Through the Oaf's Eyes
by pnaixrose
Summary: [WA3 J&V] Something weird is up with the 'punk' and Gallows just noticed. Will the 'oaf' actually play a part in Jet and Virginia's matchmaking?
1. Cravings

**Through the Oaf's Eyes**

**By:** pnaixrose

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Wild Arms 3 or any of its characters!! Please don't sue okay?

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**Chapter 1:** Cravings

"So Beatrice, eh?" the silver haired punk said with his usual irritable attitude. "How are we gonna beat her?"

All he received was a few "umms" from our leader, an "hmm" from the green haired nerd, and an "I'm-not-really-listening" grunt from me. Can you really blame me for not really listening though? I was so damned tired from thinking! That's all we had been doing that day! Well, I know that saving Filgaia and beating that little kid, Beatrice, was important, but couldn't we just barge in there and kill that psychopath kid? Geez, first Janus and his stupid crew, then the Prophets, and now Beatrice? Man, what was the world coming to these days?

Tired and frustrated with thinking, I threw my hands down on the table, causing a loud impact that gave me a couple of annoyed stares from the other customers. Geez, sooo-rry. I guess the people in Little Twister don't like it when they're disturbed from drinking their beer or something. But hey, we were in a pub! Wouldn't you think that in a pub you'd see big buffoons fighting, cracking liquor bottles on their heads, shouting in slurred words at the top of their voices, and calling each other words of profanity? Now that's my idea of a pub!!

"Why don't we just bust in there and kill the girl?" I said with a frustrated sigh.

I immediately got some stares and murmurs from the other people around us and my comrades glared at me.

Hey, it's not my fault I was born with an unusually loud voice!

"You big oaf!!" Jet murmured with a scowl. "You sound like we're gonna commit a murder or something!"

I gave him a glare of my own and leaned back in my chair. Oaf?! I'm no damn oaf!! Does that damn punk even know what an oaf is?! It's a clumsy, stupid person! And I can't be no oaf because if I was an oaf, I'd be stupid, and I'm not stupid because I know what the definition of an oaf was!

Damn...this guy makes me so angry, it makes me think. And I don't really like thinking all that much.

"Shut up, punk," I said and immediately I got a look from Virginia and Clive. I turn around with a frown and cross my arms in front of me in frustration. Why do they always blame me?! Blame the kid once in awhile!

Suddenly, I heard something loud growl and looked around in embarrassment, but luckily the others were caught up in their conversation about that annoying Beatrice again. I patted my stomach lightly and frowned. Looks like my tummy needs some yummy. But I couldn't think of eating food during a situation like this! We were supposed to be planning to beat Beatrice! Then to make it worse, I started thinking of Granny's homemade pies. Mmmm...

I'm sorry, but I'm weak when it comes to thinking about food!

"Gallows!!" a female voice said, rudely interrupting my daydream about Granny's delectable pies.

I almost jumped at the sound of the voice but I quickly regained my composure as always. "Yeah, Virginia?"

"We were thinking about taking a break for awhile," she said with a smile. "We have no idea how to beat Beatrice yet and maybe a break would gather our thoughts together."

I gave her an understanding nod, but inside my stomach was bursting with anticipation of the homemade pie.

"But we don't really know where to go," Clive continued. "Do you know anywhere that-"

"Baskar Colony!"

The other three looked at me with suspicion and then looked at each other.

Oh please..._please_ let them agree!! I need some _pie_!!

"U-Umm, I bet Granny could help us out with some ideas! M-Maybe give us some tips on the use of the Guardians or something?" I said quickly. "Besides, we've been thinking all day and we need the rest."

And the food.

Virginia put a finger to her chin in thought and turned to Clive, the wisest dude I've ever met...well except for me of course. "What do you think?" she asked.

"Well, actually it's not a bad idea, Virginia," Clive said as he fiddling with his glasses. "Gallows has a point. Maybe we'll get some pointers on the Guardians too. You never know, we can't always rely on brute strength all the time. We might have to use the mediums."

I could almost hug the dude. That had been the first time he had ever complimented me or my ideas!

Virginia looked to Jet for his opinion, but as usual the punk was not paying attention at all. Actually, he hadn't been paying attention for awhile now. He was sitting in his trademark position, feet on the table and arm behind his head in his "I-don't-really-care" stance. Hmm...but something's been very peculiar with him lately. I don't know exactly what it was, but this is the first time that I really notice that something was up with him. Usually, he'd be talking about Gella or treasures, but lately he's just been staring off into space as if some big thought is stuck on his mind.

Virginia, being the most curious out of all us, waved her hand in front of the guy, trying to get his attention. "Jet? You okay?"

When he didn't get out of his daze, she leaned in closer to take a good look at his face. Then she placed a hand on his forehead to see if he was feeling okay. As soon as her hand landed on his forehead, he seemed be paying attention quite quickly.

Wow, how can Virginia be so caring to the annoying, little punk? That's something that I would never be able to do.

He practically jumped out of the seat. Haha! It was a pretty damn funny scene! "Wh-What the-"

Taking her hand away from his face, she looked at him in curiousness. "You don't have a fever. What's wrong with you lately, Jet?"

She had me there. I didn't know what was wrong with him either. "Yeah, Virginia's right. You've been dazing off a lot these days," I said. But of course, I don't really care. I just said that out of mere politeness.

The punk just rolled his eyes as usual and looked away quickly. Now _that_ was the Jet we know! But...

I peered at his face and saw redness on his cheeks. "Hey punk," I said pointing to his face, "Maybe you _do_ have a fever or something. You're face is all red. Or maybe it's sunburn! Oh god, I hate sunburn! It itches and hurts and-"

Interrupting my description of sunburn, Virginia suddenly leaned closer to his face in worry. "You got sunburn, Jet?! You should've told me!" Leaning closer to him, she examined his face. "But Gallows is right! You're face is all red, Jet!"

"No, no!! I don't have sunburn and I'm not sick!" he yelled, looking away. Hmm...I could've sworn that his face had gotten even redder.

He sent a glare that was more menacing than usual towards me and I looked back at him in confusion.

Sheesh, this is what you get when you try to care far that punk, isn't it?

Virginia started fussing more about him as he protested everything she said when I heard laughing coming next to me. I turned to only find the oddest sight ever. Clive laughing so hard that he had had to take his glasses off.

"Yo, nerd," I said patting his back lightly. "You okay? Have you been drinking too much?"

I never thought I'd see the day when Clive has gotten drunk. Never.

Clive wiped his eyes with a hand and put on his glasses with one last chuckle as he turned to me. "You really don't see it, Gallows?"

I blinked. Wha?

Clive smiled and turned towards Jet and Virginia who were still bickering and I turned to them too, but saw nothing other than them fighting and Jet's sunburn seeming to get bigger every second. "You don't see it? Really?"

"Don't see what?" Argh! I hate it when I'm left out of things!

Clive just smirked and looked at Jet and Virginia. "Nothing. Don't mind me."

Scratching my head in confusion I looked towards Jet and Virginia. Was something going on that I don't know of? Ahh!!! I need some pie...That'll probably clear my head.

-

I looked down from Lombardia, our trusty flying dragon, and felt my head swirling. Hehe...every time I ride this thing I get a little bit more nervous than the last. Why'd the dragon have to fly so high up anyway?

"Okay Lombardia! Off to Baskar Colony!!" Virginia shouted happily as always.

Looks like Virginia and Jet have finally stopped their bickering.

I watched Virginia as she smiled brightly as Lombardia took off. I guess she'll never get sick of riding this thing. Gosh, young ladies these days sure have lots of energy. She was practically glowing as Lombardia picked up speed and she said a "Woohoo!!!" Doesn't she ever get tired being so energetic? But then again, she does eat like a pig when she gets the chance. Maybe the food keeps her energize.

Mwhahaha, don't tell her I said that. She'd kill me.

I felt something nudge my arm and turned to Clive who was smirking his ass off. Without a word he just motioned towards Jet who was sitting not that far across from us. I turned to the punk and saw that he was intently staring at something. Curious, I tried to follow his gaze and it fell on-

Virginia?!

She was just smiling cheerfully as always as she watched the ground below us. "Faster, Lombardia!!" she yelled and I had to hold on as the metal dragon gained speed. Hmm...why was Jet staring at her like that? Nothing seemed to be out of the usual with her.

I looked towards the punk again and found that his amethyst eyes still gazed fixedly on the young girl he was always bickering with. Then I saw the sunburn crawl up on his cheeks again.

I turned to Virginia again with a frustrated, low growl, still trying to found out what she could be possibly doing to get his intent attention like that. But I noticed nothing out of the usual of her as she directed the dragon, not noticing what was happening back here.

Turning to Jet again, I saw that he was still staring at her. Back and forth, back and forth I went but I could not find out why he was gaping! Suddenly, Jet turned to me and saw that I was watching him stare at Virginia's back. His face turned red as he scowled and turned away quickly, muttering something.

I could have sworn I heard the word "oaf."

ARGH! Here I am just trying to find out what was happening and he's all dissing me?! I'm gonna get him back, ooh I'm so getting him back.

But first I needed to find out what was going on. Something was definitely out of the ordinary with him, and I wanted to know what it was.

Besides, maybe I could use that as blackmail...whatever it was...

Suddenly a _very_ loud growl was heard and this time since it was so silent at the moment, the three looked at me right away and I laughed nervously in embarrassment.

Before anything else...I need some pie...


	2. Fesitval News

**Through the Oaf's Eyes  
By**: pnaixrose

**Disclaimer**: I don't own, so don't sue, okay?

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**Chapter 2**: Festival News

After we landed the huge dragon outside the outskirts of town, we stood at the entrance of Baskar Colony; the place with the good ass pie...yummm...oh, and also my hometown.

But I stopped before I entered the place. It looked different from the last time I saw it. There were more people hanging around the streets – more like paths really – some of whom I have never seen before in my whole life, which was odd because Baskar Colony was such a tiny place so everyone knew everyone else. But these people weren't even wearing the traditional colony clothes! Has time really gone past me just like that? Had I been traveling with the guys for _that_ long? But Virginia, Jet, and Clive didn't look old at all. They looked exactly the same! Wh-What if _I_ looked old?...Nahh. I look too good to be old anyway. But if time really passed by that quickly then...wh-what if...wh-what if...Granny _died_?!

_I'd never get my pie!!!!_

"Wow Gallows," the nerd said, interrupting my horrid thoughts, "the town looks a bit...civilized."

I glared at his comment. "You saying that I'm not civilized?" I asked with a frown.

Clive laughed his nerdy laugh. You know, that low chuckle of his that gets on my nerves. Do all smart people laugh weird? But then again, I don't laugh weird so I guess not...

"No, no Gallows. I didn't say that."

I ignored the nerd and continued to glance around the colony. "It's preposterous! They aren't even wearing their traditional outfits! That's not fair! I had to wear this stupid thing all my life," I said looking at my tan, leathery traditional clothing mostly made of animal skins. Boy, would it be cool to wear some normal pants and a shirt! But I would never hear the end of it from Granny. Even though I might've escaped my priesthood fate, she'd still say that I'm still part of the Baskar colony, that I have to obey its customs and blah, blah, blah…

While I was rambling on more about the Baskar colony clothing, proclaiming about how the colony had gotten so easy on people while I was gone, two _very_ pretty girls just happened to walk by. Whoa...my jaw practically dropped. They weren't wearing traditional clothing, but they were wearing pretty high skirts. What a view... If I was old now, well I certainly didn't think like an oldie. Ha! Maybe wearing traditional clothing wasn't so bad after all.

As I stared and most probably drooled, the punk next to me snorted. "Ha! And you were saying something about Baskar colony's traditional clothing, Gallows? I think it was something about no one who lives here should ever be allowed to wear other clothes because-"

"Jet," Virginia said warningly with a tone in her voice.

Gee...wouldn't you think Virginia made a good mom?

Clive began to laugh at us as usual and I frowned.

"Hey, it's not my fault that all the women in my life that I know aren't exactly eye catching!" I said huffily, trying to explain myself. "Hey, I grew up with _Granny_. _And_ to make it worse, all the women I've seen while traveling were...well unattractive. I think that basically proves my—OWW!!!"

I felt someone suddenly pull my ear...hard. Looking down at the person who was still yanking my ear out, I whimpered.

"_All_ the women you saw while traveling?" Virginia inquired with an angry pout as she yanked on my ear. "You better redefine your meaning of unattractive, Gallows!" she yelled, her emerald eyes ablaze.

Oh shit...oops...

I quickly tried to redeem myself, without gaining more pulls on the ear. "OUCH!!! I-I mean, there was always _one_ girl that I thought was attractive!!" I said quickly. Darn...that really does hurt!

Virginia pulled harder on the ear. "_Who,_ Gallows? I'm really curious!"

"V-Virginia is the most attractive girl I've ever seen! Can you let go now please?" I pleaded and she finally let go of the ear.

Hey, if there are any girls reading this _do not_, I repeat, _DO NOT_ pull on men's ears...it's one of their weaknesses. Oh, that and pulling the hair behind their heads. You know, the hair that's on the backs of their necks. Ouch...that hurts too. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

I rubbed my precious ear gently while Virginia looked up at me with her usual smile. Isn't it amazing what a small girl like her can do? I mean, okay, so I guess I could've handled the situation better without making myself look like a total weenie...after all, I am practically twice her size. Virginia was one scary lady to mess with. I rolled my eyes at Clive and Virginia who didn't even bother to try to hide their irritating laughter.You'd think they would have more respect for me by now, eh? Jeez, talk about friendship. But hey, where was that brat?

Jet was staring at...whoa! Virginia _again_?! What was wrong with this boy? I stared at him silently, while the laughing continued ringing in my ears (gosh, when would they stop?). That look on his face looked so...intense. Then, I saw him suddenly stop staring and shake his head like he was trying to get rid of a thought. But hey, does sunburn really spread that quickly? It was all over his face by now.

Before anyone else could say anything more, I spotted a familiar, small dude wearing traditional clothes. He immediately put on a grin when he saw us.

"What are you doing here, brother?"

I forgot immediately about Jet and Virginia and laughed out loud, picking up the little guy and twirling him around. Then I set him down on the ground, still laughing. "Shane! What's up? How's my favorite brother? Any girlfriends yet?"

I gave him a noogie which he oh-so-loves, messing up his neat hair. "Oh, Brother! Stop! You're too loud!!" he said pouting as people looked our way. "Guess some people really don't change no matter how long it's been." Geez...so much for brotherly love. And I'm not loud! I'm just _talkative!_

My hand got tired and I finally stopped noogie-ing the poor boy. Then fixing his ruffled hair, he smiled at me and my friends. "Hey, what are all of you doing here?"

Virginia gave a happy smile. "We just wanted to take a break here for now."

"Yeah you know, beating evil monsters and evil people...yeah that all kinda gets quite boring after awhile," I said, puffing out my chest while running a hand through my hair. I stretched out my arms and grinned. "Being heroes and stuff is kinda tiring."

I could've sworn I heard a mumbled "Stop bragging you, big oaf" but I decided to let it go for now. I'd think of something for revenge. I swear to the Guardians that I'll get that punk back someday.

"I bet you're tired. Would all of you like to get some rest at the hut?" Shane asked politely.

"Sure, maybe for a bit. By the way, you have excellent people skills, Shane," Clive said as they all followed my little brother.

"That's for sure...more than a certain older brother we all know..."

I swear...sometimes that silver haired punk would really do better by shutting his smart mouth. Just watch, Jet..just watch.

When we neared my little hut, weaving through all the people we were in our way, I saw Granny come out and with a big smile of her face and hold out her arms as if...she wanted to hug me!

Ah! I never knew she cared! Someone _does_ love me!

I ran towards her cheerfully, my arms outstretched, too. But when I neared her—

THWACK!!

I rubbed the back of my head. "Ow! What the hell?!" Jeez...was it abuse poor, old Gallows day today?

"Gallows, what are you doing? Trying to run over a poor lady?" She frowned down at me, her violent cane held in her hand. Then she looked past me and saw the other guys standing there and immediately ran – as fast as an old woman can – towards them. Then she hugged Virginia until she was out of breath.

So much for familial love...

"Virginia, what a lovely surprise!! And Jet and Clive, too! Come in, come in!" Granny ushered the gang, including Shane, back into the hut while I stood there. Things still seemed to be the same, I guess. Oh, well. Shrugging my shoulders, I entered the hut following the others.

-

My jaw dropped as I entered in the dim hut. Oh my god...I was really drooling when I saw them. The beautiful, sweet, luscious –

THWACK!

"Ow!" I rubbed the back of my head again. Now this was getting tiring!

"No touching my pies! These aren't for you!" Granny shouted frowning at me.

Oh darn. Six beautiful pies were just waiting for me on the table; three cinnamon, and three blueberry. I swear I could hear them saying "Eat me".

"Wow! These look delicious!" Virginia exclaimed as she sat down at the table.

"Now we know why the oaf wanted to come..." Jet said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of him. That's another "I-don't-really-care" stance of his.

God...he was so annoying.

"By the way, why are there so many people here today?" Clive asked as he took a seat next to Virginia.

"The annual Baskar Colony festival coming up. It lasts three days, starting tomorrow. It first started to honor the guardians, but now I'm afraid that people come just for the fun and games," Shane said. Leave it to smart, ole' Shane to explain things.

Oh yeaah...now I remember. I _LOVED_ these festivals. So much food and games. In fact, I think that the first time I tasted one of Gran's pies was around the time of the annual Baskar festival. Wow, I almost forgot all about it. I've been so caught up with the thought of how to defeat Beatrice that I didn't notice it was almost time for the festival. Ah, so many memories. Shane and I used to go to those all the time, and I would always win those pie eating contests. Maybe that's why I had that craving for pie. It was nearing the time for the festival and my stomach anticipated it. Wow! Ain't that cool? Now I'll always know when the festival is nearing! But there seemed to be more people this year, but I guess I can't blame them for wanting a little fun and relaxationg at a time like this. It's amazing that they would even travel across the land to such a small place like Basker Colony.

Virginia's eyes lit up at the sound of 'festival.' "A festival? Really? Oh, I wanna go!"

Predictable, old Virginia. Figures she would say something like that..

"What's with the pies though?" Clive asked, "They look really tasty. I barely get the chance to see, much less taste wonderful looking pies like these anymore."

That dork...doesn't he have Catherine to make him all sorts of other food? Man, must be nice to be married.

Granny sighed. "Everyone in the colony is trying to serve their best dishes or desserts. Mine of course are my blueberry pies. But the ingredients these days are so slim, we searched everywhere for a town that actually had them. Luckily, we did," Granny said looking at the pies with a sigh.

"So Granny, need a taste tester?" I asked eyeing the pies.

She started waving her cane at me with a stern face on. "You touch these pies, and I swear to the Guardians that you will regret it."

I sighed. "Okay, okay." All she had to say was no.

I sighed, drooling as I breathed in their scent. So much for my pie craving.

-

After a quick meal, I was suddenly tired. Does eating so much really tire people out? Or was it because I had wasted so much energy trying to resist those pies that were just sitting on the counter waiting for me?

"Okay, Gallows. Go clean up," Granny said as she saw that everyone's plates were empty.

My jaw dropped. First no pie, and then I have to clean up?! What's up with that? "B-B-But–"

"Thank you for being such a great host for your guests! Come, Shane. We must discuss some festival events with the rest of the colony." Then the old woman walked out of the hut without another word. Shane looked back at me with a sorry looked on his face.

"Sorry, brother. I'll see you later okay?" Then he followed Gran outside.

When did Shane become such a Granny's pet? But I guess this was how it always was. Gran had always liked Shane better. I have a feeling it's because I ran away from my priesthood thing. But it was just so boring! I'm not meant for something like that! Ah, it don't matter to me though. I know deep down inside of Granny's cold, little heart, she cares for me...hopefully. Maybe deep, deep, deep, _deep_ down she does.

Clive and Virginia started laughing at my shocked face. Some friends they were...don't they have anything better to do?

"Oh, shut up," I growled as I picked up their plates.

"Sorry, Gallows. It's just kinda funny," Virginia said still giggling.

"Hmph...he deserves it..."

I had to resist throwing a plate at the punk's stupid head.

"Now, don't start fighting now," Clive said warningly. Gosh, it really shows that he's a father. "By the way, Virginia, don't you want to go outside and watch them set up all the games and stands?" he asked the girl seated next to her.

A large grin appeared on her face and she nodded. "Sure! Let's go, let's go! Maybe we can help out somehow."

I saw the punk roll his eyes as I set the pile of plates on the counter and turned to listen to the conversation. "You help people too much, Virginia. You gotta have time for yourself once in awhile too, ya know?"

Hmm, he actually had a point there.

Virginia shrugged. "But I like helping people! _You_ have to learn how to care for other people more!"

Jet raised an eyebrow and then looked away quickly. "Whatever." His annoying catch phrase.

Before I knew it, Virginia was beaming again and she stood up, almost knocking down her chair. "Well, let's go! C'mon, Jet! Wanna come? I'll give you your first lesson on caring for people!"

Jet was silent for awhile, just staring at Virginia with a confused look on his eyes. But wait...what's that I see? I peered closer and saw redness spread slowly on his face again. Huh? Could someone get sunburn from inside a house? No way...

What he said next actually surprised me. You'd think that he'd simply say "No" or say "That's stupid" right? But he didn't.

"I-I dunno..."

Virginia skipped over to his seat, which was across from hers, and pulled his arm. "Aww c'mon, lazy butt! What else is there to do?"

He still looked skeptical though...and may I also add red as a tomato. "Well..."

"Go, Jet. It'll be fun," Clive urged with a small on his face.

That was when Jet nodded a bit and stood up, turning even redder. "F-Fine. I'll go."

Virginia practically jumped. "YAY!! I knew you'd pick the right choice, Jet!"

I grunted. "He probably just wants to see all those girls out there with their short skirts," I muttered.

Immediately Virginia turned to Jet with an angry frown. "Is that true, Jet?"

"N-N-No!"

Mwahaha! YES! A way to finally get back at him! "Yeah right, punk. You're a guy, aren't you? Don't you want to see pretty girls walking around with short skirts? I mean, you must be tired of traveling and seeing no pretty girls at all, right?" I smirked.

He turned my way and glared at me.

"What?! _No_ pretty girls? Ahem, what about yours truly?" Virginia asked frowning at Jet.

"Uh...d-don't listen to him, Virginia," he said still glaring steadily at me.

"Say it, Jet!" the girl said.

"Say what?"

"Say that I'm pretty!!"

"Wh-What?! No way!!"

Virginia turned around and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Fine..."

Wow, this was a weird scene. Still pretty funny though! Wait a minute, why isn't she pulling his ear like she did to mine?! THAT'S SO NOT FAIR! Damn that punk. Virginia and Clive always treat him better than me!

Jet sighed in defeat. "Oh, okay, okay!!"

"Say it," she said, her back still to Jet. But unknown to him, Clive and I saw a small smile on her lips. She wasn't mad at all! She was just toying with him!

"V-Virginia is...is...the...p-prettiest girl th-that I've ever seen," he said, saying the last part of the sentence quickly. He was fidgeting so much that it was so hard not to burst out laughing.

Virginia turned to him, giggling. "Oh Jet, I was just kidding! But thanks anyway!" She gave him a quick hug and then turned to me and Clive who were watching intently.

"Clive, you wanna come, too?" she asked, smiling.

"No, that's okay," he said as he stretched his arms out. "I'm tired. I was thinking of taking a nap. But you kids have fun okay?"

Virginia shrugged but Jet didn't do anything at all. He looked shocked or something. He was all stiff too. I couldn't help but try to stifle a chuckle as I saw his face. I hope he stays like that forever! That would be pure heaven.

"What about you, Gallows? Wanna come?" she asked.

The idea of watching all the decorations and stuff appealed to me, but the idea of watching all those pretty girls appealed to me even more. Hmm...what to pick? Cleaning dishes? Or checking out hot girls?

I shrugged, a smile on my face. "Hmm...Sure, why no–"

"Don't you have to do some dish washing, Gallows?" Clive said quickly, suddenly interrupting me.

"But I–"

Virginia shrugged. "That's true. You'll get into trouble if you don't, right?" Then smiling, she dragged Jet out of the door, waving a quick bye to us. "See ya guys later!"

Then without another word they left, leaving me with a pile of dishes.

DAMMIT!!

"What did you do that for?!" I asked the nerd who was calmly standing up from his chair. I could've been out there checking out girls! But of course he doesn't care because he has a wife so it was easy for him!

He turned to me and smiled. "Sorry Gallows. But I don't think Jet and Virginia really want you to come. They were just being polite."

Huh? "What do you mean?"

Clive sighed. "You really don't know, do you?"

Gallows shrugged. "I did notice something weird going on. Jet keeps staring at Virginia for some reason. Oh, and he's been getting sunburn a lot recently. Does he have some kind of skin disease?"

Clive shook his head, a slight smile still on his face. "Never mind."

This was so irritating! I know I probably mentioned this before but, why am _I_ always the one left out in stuff?!

"No, tell me! C'mon, something is going on here and I wanna know what it is!"

"Oh, all right. Think about it though. You said that you've seen Jet staring at Virginia for no reason right? Well, what if there was a reason? What do you think that reason would be?"

I shrugged again. I didn't get it. "I don't know, sometimes I just stare at stuff without thinking too though. Everything gets all blurry and stuff. Is it normal for someone to stare off into space so often though?"

Clive slapped his forehead. What did I say?

"Okay, here's something else. Don't you think that it's weird that Jet actually consented to go with Viriginia to go outside just now?" he said slowly.

I nodded. That was true. I've never seen him actually want to go anywhere. "Yeah that's true," I said.

"Well, he wanted to be with her. _Really_ wanted to...Do you get it?" He looked at me intently.

Hmm, he wanted to be with her? Why though? Let's think...why would a teenage – well, a teenage-_looking_ – guy want to be with Virginia? I gasped out loud as a thought suddenly entered my head.

"OH MY GOSH!"

Clive looked at me in surprise. "You found it out?"

I nodded slowly, paling just a tiny bit. "I-I think. But I can't imagine it...I knew that Jet was a teenager and all but he doesn't really seem to be the type that–"

Clive nodded, looking happy that he finally put something through to my head. "Yeah. It's weird for him isn't it?"

"–would do something like that!"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"Aren't they '_doing it'_?! I'm gonna kill him! Ugh...I can't even imagine that! Damn that punk! I knew he didn't come with us for the right reasons! Now he's going around defiling Virginia like that?! I'm gonna–"

Before I knew it, I was slapped across the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" I asked the nerd as I rubbed my precious head. Why am I getting hurt today so much! What did _I_ do?!

"Why you thick-headed..." Clive frowned at me with a frustrated look on his face. "They're in love, you big oaf!!!!"

Now _he's_ calling me an oaf?! What is it with everyone calling me–

Wait a minute...did he just say...?

"_WHAT_?!"


	3. A Silent Gallows

**Through the Oaf's Eyes  
****By: **pnaixrose

**Disclaimer: **I don't own, so please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 3:** A Silent Gallows

"_WHAT_?!"

I swear I must've looked like the stupidest guy in the world right then. But hey, it was just unexpected! You can't blame me for being surprised!

The nerd stood in front of me, shaking his head while his arms crossed in front of him like he was the king of the world or something. Grr, he could've just told me! Instead he had to make me think! And you know how I hate thinking! Could I help it if I thought Virginia and Jet were...you know?

I almost laughed out loud despite my shock. I had _actually_ thought that Jet would do something like that! He wouldn't have the guts!

But wait, time to focus now, Gallows. I tend to lose my train of thought a lot lately. So Jet and Virginia...were in _love_?! That couldn't be! They hated each other! And Virginia wouldn't lose her mind and choose someone like that punk! I almost laughed aloud again. This _has _to be a joke. I mean, Virginia and _Jet_?! Jet barely did or thought _anything_! Why would _he_ be in love? Yeah, this was a joke.

I started laughing hysterically. "Very funny, Clive! That's _really_ funny! Almost got me there too!" I said totally forgetting about the dishes I had to clean as I laughed my head off at the very notion of Jet liking someone.

The nerd slapped his forehead again. Gee, he does that anymore and he's gonna have a concussion. "I'm _not_ lying! It's true!" he insisted.

The laugh faded from my throat and my eyes were probably as huge as the plates I had to clean. "Are you...serious?"

He sighed, obviously irritated. "Yes!"

I could tell that he was obviously telling the truth at that point. Besides, who would joke about something like this? I was so shocked that I had to take a seat to clear my head. Jet and Virginia, in _love_?! That couldn't be. Maybe they don't _love_ each other. After all, that's a small word with pretty big meanings behind it. Maybe it was puppy love? You know, a crush of some sort?

"Wait," I said still not entirely believing it. "They're in _love_? Are you sure? What if it's just a kid crush or something? Or maybe Jet's a little out of it? You know, only seeing one woman everyday will probably do that to you."

Eep...don't tell Virginia I said that.

"I'm afraid that they _are_ in love," he answered. "This is definitely not just a crush. Believe me, I know."

Leave it up to Clive to know everything. I pondered on this a couple more minutes so that it would sink in my head. Wow, this was unexpected. Just think, two of the people I've been hanging out with, talking to, fighting beside, and just basically seeing everyday of this yet unfinished journey were in _love_. Ironically, one of them was my favorite of the group and the other was my least favorite. Why hadn't I noticed it earlier?

But wait, this can be used to my advantage! YES! FINALLY! REVENGE! Time for blackmailing! Now that punk will finally get what he deserves! One more sound of 'oaf' coming from him and I'll totally humiliate him! Fate must really love me for telling me this juicy bit of info. Next time I see the punk, I'll–

"No," Clive said sternly.

I groaned. Dammit. He must have seen through my plan or something. Or maybe I was being too obvious with that evil grin on my face. "What are you talking about?"

"You will not use this information to blackmail Jet," he stated simply, his eyes firm and serious.

I immediately jumped up from my seat. It figures that Clive would see straight through my 'innocent' act. "Why not? He deserves it! Just think Clive, I'll have him at the tip of my finger with this info!"

Clive shook his head as he looked at me disapprovingly. Does he have to be such a father all the time? "Gallows, that's wrong and you know it. I forbid you from blackmailing Jet."

I slumped back in my chair again angrily. Dammit. Why does he always have to be right all the time? "Fine. You win. I'll find another way to get my revenge. But why bother telling me this if I can't use it against him?" I said.

He glared down at me. "You're the one who wanted to know. Now you know why we keep secrets from you."

"Hey! You guys have other secr–"

But he cut me off again. "And besides, maybe you can help," he said.

I could've sworn that he said "But I highly doubt that" under his breath, but I think I'll just pretend that I didn't hear it for now.

I leaned back in the chair carelessly, my mind already starting to float away somewhere else. Now that I couldn't carry out my plan, the romance between the two kids didn't really interest me anymore. I mean, it was still shocking to me, but it was their business. But I was willing to help out the nerd if it was something interesting. After all, I am quite a helpful person. Haha. "What do you mean, Clive? Help with what?"

Circling around the table, he started explaining with a thoughtful and amused tone in his voice. "Well actually, they don't know that the other loves them back," Clive started.

"Huh? Don't they give signs or anything?" Isn't that what teenagers usually do? Flirt and sweet talk and stuff?

A sudden image of Jet flirting suddenly made me want to gag but I tried my best to ignore it.

"Yeah, but I think they're probably thinking something like 'she/he doesn't love me back so why bother' because they haven't done anything yet. You know, the usual teen pessimistic thoughts. Or maybe they just don't know they're in love. In fact, I don't think Jet has a clue why he starts staring at Virginia all of a sudden."

"Why don't you just tell them? Just go up to Virginia and Jet and tell them straight out?"

Clive shook his head. "That wouldn't work. Besides, I'll humiliate the poor kids. No, I can't do that even though I'm itching to do so. I know these kinds of relationships. They're the ones who have to do everything."

I nodded. Count on Clive to be one to fill you in with details and explain everything. Jeez, what a nerd. He even knows stuff about romance! Wait, aren't nerds supposed to be really smart but geeky? You know, the usual high pants, suspenders, and plaid shirt? Then braces and an inhaler? But here comes Clive still as smart as a genius, yet he is pretty skillful with his ARMs, and has a wife and kid. Damn. Some people get all the luck. "But what does that have to do with my helping?"

He gave a sly smirk and I immediately knew that he was up to something. "Well, I've done as much as I can to try to help them out, but I think I need some help..."

I sat up in the chair. So that was it. He was asking me to do the dirty work. "No."

The nerd sighed. "Why not? It's been going on for quite some time now and–"

I shook my head as I cut him off. "It's not my business, now is it?" I may be a pain sometimes but I didn't usually go and butt into other people's lives. "This is their situation. Let them handle it. I don't want to be troubled by anything."

Clive frowned and then sighed after a few seconds of thought. "Well if you really feel that way, then it's okay. I'm sorry for asking."

I grinned. Yay! No arguing back? Must be a miracle of some sort. "No prob. The info was juicy. But don't worry, I promise I won't use it against the punk."

"I'm sorry I told you about this whole thing though."

I saw his sly, scheming eyes and was curious. "Why? It doesn't matter. I bet I'll forget it anyway in a second." I often did that a lot. Once someone tells me something, I forget about it all of a sudden. Like when Granny tells me to do something, it just slips from my mind sometimes.

An evil smirk formed on Clive's face. "I don't know, Gallows. I'm almost positive that you'll end up begging to help me hook the teens up."

Ha! That's ridiculous! I would never beg Clive for anything! Laughing I said, "What makes you think that?"

Clive just smiled and shrugged. "Once you know what's going on between them and you know that you can't really do anything, it starts getting pretty irritating."

Standing up, I gave a snort. "Yeah right. Whatever. I still don't think I'll be helping though. Well if you excuse me, I have some dishes to clean."

Wow. I've never said that before.

-

Shane and Granny came home an hour later and Granny started laying out some few ingredients on the counter. When I asked her what she was doing she said that she was going to try to whip out any other desserts she can think of with the leftover ingredients. My mouth grew dry and my eyes were wide.

"Really? Can I help, Gran?" I asked. Maybe if I was lucky I would get to lick off some dough or something from a spoon.

She shook her head as she reached up to grab a bowl. "I know what you're thinking. You're not getting any desserts. At least, not until tomorrow because I know you'll probably zoom past all the stands eating all their food. And you'll probably win the pie eating contest, too."

I grinned. "But aren't you at least proud of me for winning those contests?" There must be _something_ out there about me that she's at least somewhat proud of.

My face fell when she made a disgusted face. "Are you kidding? Me being proud that you eat like a pig? I don't think so."

Frowning, I took a seat at the table where Shane was seated, who was painting something on a flat, long piece of wood. I think it was a sign for Granny's stand. Meanwhile, Clive was taking a nap on one of the beds. How could Gran be so cruel to me? Doesn't she feel bad at all for saying all those mean things about me? "Aww Gran. You're so cruel."

"Well, it's my cruelty that will discipline you like you're supposed to be," she said tossing something in a bowl. "By the way, where's Virginia? I thought she'd like to help me out. You know, like a woman to woman baking lesson."

Maybe that was a good idea. Then while we're traveling, _Virginia_ will let me test out the food she makes. But I doubt that she'd ever get past baking without an oven and all. Besides, she made pretty good stew already. I shrugged at Granny's response, watching in a daze as Shane carefully write in perfect, big letters on the sign. He was always the talented one of the family. Me? I was the loud, annoying one.

And may I add loud, annoying, _handsome_ one?

"I haven't seen Jet, either," Shane added.

I shrugged again. "Oh yeah. The two kids went off around town earlier. Virginia wanted to check out some stands and decorations and stuff. Jet went with her." I almost added a snicker to that since I thought that I was the only one in the room who knew about the little 'love conflict' between the two teens.

But oh how I was wrong.

Gran smiled. "Really? So they're finally dating?"

I jumped from my seat. "Whhaat?! You know about it?"

"No, I didn't know they were dating but I always kind of figured that they liked each other," she said.

I shook my head, still shocked. Even Gran knew about this before I did! How unfair! "They aren't dating. But I think they _do_ like each other." I laughed. "Clive even said that they _loved_ each other! Ain't that funny? It's still hard for me to believe that he said that."

Why isn't no one laughing?

"I think Clive has a point, now that I think of it," Shane said, his eyes still down on the sign.

I turned to him with my jaw dropped in shock. "You know about it, too?"

Even Shane knew it! ...I should really pay attention more often.

"Of course, brother. It's quite obvious," he turned to me. "Didn't you know?"

I laughed sheepishly. "Err...of course! I was just wondering if you knew."

He nodded, continuing with his writing. "Well since you've mentioned that they're in love, it kind of makes sense now."

Gran nodded in agreement. "I agree. Jet's been acting pretty odd lately. Love can change you in lots of ways. And now that you tell me that he went with Virginia to look at the festival stands, it's pretty weird how he went. He usually isn't the type to be going out places to have fun voluntarily."

I nodded. "And lately he's been blushing a lot whenever he stares at Virginia." I finally knew that it wasn't sunburn I kept on seeing. It was the blood rushing to his head. Haha. How stupid can I be?

"How can you stand seeing them like that everyday, Gallows?" Granny asked, still working on desserts.

"What do you mean?"

"I'd be pretty annoyed, to tell you the truth. It gets pretty irritating for me to watch them go about like nothing's wrong when all of you visit us, brother," Shane added.

"Why?"

"Because since you know about it, you're dying to tell them. It's annoying how they like each other but won't admit it. Yet you can't tell them. This is the kind of thing they have to handle themselves," Granny said. "But still, watching them trying so hard to ignore the fact that they like the other one is pretty funny."

I nodded in agreement. Watching especially Jet was hilarious! "That's what Clive said, too. But I don't see why it annoys you guys. It's their business so let them take care of it. I'll just be at the sidelines hoping everything goes okay," I said.

Hey it was the truth. It's wrong to butt into other people's business. I'm not the nosy type of person even though sometimes I may seem like it. Well actually, I'm not nosy at all...just _curious_.

Granny tsked as she shook her head. "Gallows, you should really help out your friends more often."

I frowned and was about to retort when good ole' Shane backed me up. "Don't say that. Just because we feel one way doesn't mean he should feel that way too. And he _does_ have a point there. Invading peoples' business is not very polite."

Ah! That's why I love my lil bro!

"By the way, I'm finished with the sign!" Shane added as he held it up for Gran to see. The words were perfectly centered and were written in beautiful script.

Granny nodded her approval. Aww...when will she do that with me? "Good job, Shane! Now that you're done, you can leave it outside to dry." She looked down at her recipe. "Oh and on the way, can you bring your brother outside too?"

My eyes widened. I had at least wanted to smell the sweet aroma of the desserts! "WHAT?! WHY?!"

Gran frowned as she turned to me. "Because I know you'll try to sneak a taste. Besides, everyone's rushing to set up last minute decorations and stands. You should help out. After all, you _are_ part of the Baskar Colony." Trust Granny to be caring for the colony while totally disregarding _my_ feelings. "Now get."

Sighing, I followed Shane out the door with his cardboard in his hands. Boy, women sure do like to help other people. First Virginia, now Gran.

-

After Shane rested the sign on a rock right outside our little hut, he turned to me with a grin. "Don't worry, brother. Granny likes you."

I groaned. For some reason Shane would always know what I'm thinking about. "Riiight. She likes me as much as I dislike veggies," I muttered. "How can you always be on her good side?"

He just shrugged. Eh. I didn't think he'd know. Maybe he was just born a goody-goody.

We walked slowly around town, watching the town people put up decorations and yelling orders to others. The stands were set in a circle and everyone seemed to be doing some last minute preparations. Everyone seemed to be outside today, running around in frenzy or working on something. As for the visitors from other towns, they walked along slowly watching the different decorations and stuff. They seemed to come a day earlier. Guess everyone in Filgaia needed a break.

The sun was high in the sky and time passed rather quickly as Shane and I caught up in things and laughed at silly childhood memories. While walking through the small colony, we met up with other Basker Colony residents who were clearly happy to see me...well most of them anyway. Some people are just plain rude, ya know? Then we spotted a familiar girl wearing a pinkish purplish dress carrying some wood.

Looking up at us, her eyes brightened as she waved. "Gallows! Shane! Hiya!" Unfortunately, she had forgotten that something was in her arms and when she waved, all the wood fell to the ground. "Woops."

Haha. Virginia may be an excellent leader and friend, but sometimes her cheeriness makes her clumsy all of a sudden. Oh well. That was Virginia for you.

Laughing, I picked up the wood that lay at her feet before she could even bend down to get them. "A girl shouldn't be carrying this much wood," I said. "Whew...it's pretty heavy."

Virginia frowned. "That's what Jet said too," she mumbled. "Girls can do anything they want!"

Shane laughed. "By the way, where is Jet?"

Virginia's eyes lit up again. "Oh he's over there. C'mon. He'll probably want some company. Oh and Gallows, bring the wood."

I nodded stiffly as I followed Virginia and Shane with the bunch in my arms. Damn! This was so heavy! And Virginia was carrying this?! No way! Well, it's not like _I_ can't handle it.

Finally we reached the spot and I dropped the wood in a heap, panting. Whew! Thank the Guardians!

I heard a grunt. "Too heavy for you?"

I growled at the person who was hammering away at some piece of wood. Looks like he was making a stand or booth for someone. Argh, it was the damn punk. I stood there glaring at him while he glared back, the hammer in his hand.

"Jet, Gallows," Virginia said with a sigh to break us up. "Don't start."

Jet gave a mumble and started hammering away again, taking a new board from the pile that I dropped on the floor. Since when did he listen to her so much?

"What are you guys doing here?" Shane asked.

"We're helping!" Virginia said happily.

"Helping who?"

Virginia giggled nervously. "Actually...I don't know her name."

Jet sighed. "Virginia saw this lady struggling with a lot of kids and just went up to help. Then next thing I know it, the lady went inside the house and I'm stuck here hammering."

"Well at least you're helping," Virginia said. "Doesn't it feel good?"

"Working out in the hot sun for a stranger? I don't think so," he mumbled, still hammering away. "We don't even get paid."

Hey, I had to agree with him there. Why help someone and tire yourself out when you don't get anything in return? Hmm...he has a point.

Virginia sighed. "You and Gella. You'll never change."

Jet stopped hammering all of a sudden. "Well I'd feel a lot better if you'd let me carry the wood instead of working on this stand! You'll get hurt or something, you know? Besides, I bet you're really tired. You've been going back and forth to get the wood and dropping it off here for awhile."

Virginia put her hands on her hips. "No, no. I'm fine! Besides, I've never hammered anything before. I'd mess up the stand."

Gee...she's persuasive too.

Jet sighed in frustration. "But–"

Virginia shook her head and placed her hands on top of her ears. "I'm not listening! Lalala..."

Jet sighed again, this time louder. "Virginia!!"

Meanwhile me and Shane were just watching the scene silently. What did you expect us to do? It was then that Shane nudged me and said, "See? Jet cares about her. He doesn't even want her to carry some wood."

I shrugged. "I guess."

Shane grinned. "Ain't that cute?"

I made a disgusted face. Cute?! This is cute?! They're just bickering! "Aww Shane. That's so girly." He rolled his eyes and turned to the two teens again.

"Okay, I'm going back for more wood," Virginia said as she was about to slip away.

Jet grabbed her arm before she could. "Oh no you don't. We don't need anymore. I'm sure the pile Gallows brought back will be enough."

"Then I'll go and help other pe–"

"No," Jet said firmly, still holding her arm. "You stay right here where you won't hurt yourself."

Virginia pouted. "Aww Jet. Lighten up! Nothing will happen to me! Why are you worrying so much about me?"

I guess that hit the punk because he stared at her thoughtfully and dropped his hold on her arm. Then he just stood there silently, just staring at her as if he had done something wrong or something.

Virginia raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Jet? What's wrong?"

I must admit. I was confused too. Why did Jet just freeze up like that? Suddenly Shane nudged me again and explained. Good ole' Shane. He might actually compete with Clive's cleverness you know?

"Jet's confused with himself," he whispered. "When Virginia asked him why he was so worried, he stopped because he didn't know why he was so worried about her. He doesn't know about his feelings yet! This will be going on for a long time. It's so irritating!"

I nodded slowly. It _was_ getting kinda irritating. _A little_. I mean, Jet was wondering why the hell he was caring so much for the girl and I knew why! Err. I could just go right up and tell him but...I don't know. Something's just holding me back. It's like, I know I can't interfere. Dammit. Can't you realize it already, punk?!

Virginia waved her hand in front of Jet's face. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, hasn't she? "Jet? Jet? Are you there?"

Jet jumped out of his daze and just nodded slowly. "Yeah sorry." Then he turned quickly, a blush – not a sunburn – spreading on his cheeks. "Uhh...I-I'll go and...wood...hammer..." He picked up the hammer and started hammering again stiffly.

This may be kinda irritating, but it was definitely funny as hell! Boy, when the punk stutters, it's hilarious! I was about to crack up! Shane probably realized that because he jabbed my side with his elbow to shut me up. I grimaced and held my side.

Shane's pretty violent.

Suddenly a yelp of pain caught my attention and I looked up, ignoring the aching in my side. Jet was holding his finger and scowling. He must've hit his finger with the hammer! I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. I burst out in laughter, which made both Jet and Shane glare at me. I was laughing so hard that I almost didn't notice Virginia go up to Jet in a hurry.

She grabbed his arm and looked at his throbbing red finger and looked up at him with a frown. "Jet! You're so careless! Hah! And you said that something would happen to _me_?"

I saw Jet's cheeks flush again as he stood there stiffly and somehow I got even more irritated. Argh! Stupid lovey dovey stuff...

All of a sudden, Virginia started blowing his finger.

"Gah! What are you doing?" Jet asked, the blush obviously there. But somehow Virginia didn't see it. Was she blind or something?!

Virginia shrugged. "It's what my dad always did when I got a boo-boo. I don't think it actually helps but it makes you feel better. Ain't it working?" she grinned.

"N-No! This is stupid!" He pulled his hand away quickly. Must've been the manly pride. Having a girl blow away your 'boo-boos' wasn't really manly if you know what I mean. I know that I probably would've done the same thing.

But still, now it was definitely annoying! It was like you know a secret and you're just dying to tell it! But this was much worse! This was a big thing! Huge! And now that I think about it, at the rate that these two turtles are going, we all would be old! Hurry up already!!

Suddenly, two chattering, little boys came up out of no where and jumped on Jet, knocking him down. "What the–"

Meanwhile Virginia and I were laughing our heads off. Hey, I bet you'd be laughing too! While Jet lay there on the ground rubbing the back of his head, the two kids yelled at each other and climbed all over the punk. Oh wow...Jet's really unlucky today, isn't he?

But now I knew who those two teens were working for. It was Mrs. Igans and her four little squirts. Why didn't I think of her earlier? I mean, the Igans are the only ones who have four kids in their family. And sure enough, Mrs. Igan wearing traditional Baskar clothes came up to us and pulled her two boys off of Jet, a little baby in one arm, and another kid, a girl, hiding behind her.

"I'm so sorry!" Mrs. Igan said as her two boys forgot about Jet and started brawling with each other instead. "We were coming to see how you guys were doing when my two boys ran ahead of me in a hurry. I'm so sorry!"

Jet got up and dusted himself off. "Wh-Whatever." I guess he was still knocked out of it a bit.

Meanwhile me and Shane decided to say hello. "Hey Ma'am!" I said with a big grin. I've always loved her kids. "How's everything?"

She smiled brightly as she saw me, holding her two boys back. "Gallows! You're here! For the festival I bet? Are you going to win the pie eating contest again?"

"Of course!! Nothing can get between me and my pies!"

"Maybe his grandmother..." muttered Jet.

...Damn that punk...

"Anyway," started Shane. "I see you hired our two friends to build your stand."

The woman nodded, trying to stop the baby in her arms from squirming. "They're your friends? They're really helpful! You see my husband went out of town yesterday and won't be back until tomorrow. Unfortunately that left me to build the stand and everything else. But of course, the children were squabbling again and everything." She sighed and giggled a bit. "They may be cute but they can be quite a hand full." She turned to Jet and Virginia. "Thank you so much again! You really saved me!"

Virginia beamed. "No problem. We were glad to help!" She nudged Jet who seemed to forget about his throbbing finger. "Right, Jet?"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered and then he went to finish the stand. He was just about done.

"But your kids are so cute!" Virginia squealed. She waved hi to the little girl hiding behind her mother and she shied away.

The proud mother smiled. "They are pretty cute, aren't they?" she said cuddling the baby in her arms.

"Hey, I'm done!" Jet said as he stepped back and put the hammer down. The wooden stand stood before us, all finished.

"That's wonderful!" Mrs. Igan said. "Thanks again!"

Suddenly the two squabbling squirts ran up Jet again and jumped up and down.

"Play with us!"

"Please!!!"

Jet's eyes widened. "Wh-What?!"

Mrs. Igan's smile grew. "Looks like they like you."

"Why me?!"

She shrugged. "With their father gone, they haven't had much fun in awhile." She sighed. "I think I have another favor to ask of you. Would you mind taking care of the children for awhile? I have to help the elderly lady that lives next to us and I'm afraid she hates my kids."

Jet groaned but Virginia's smile seemed to get bigger. And sure enough she was the one to agree. "Of course! I love kids!!"

Mrs. Igan smiled and handed her the baby. Then she turned to the little girl behind her and patted her head. "I'll be back okay?" The girl nodded a bit and walked towards Virginia. Then with a quick wave, the busy woman left towards a hut.

As Jet struggled with the two boys, Virginia turned to me and Shane. "You guys help too!"

Shane nodded. "Sure, why not?"

"How about you, Gallows?"

I nodded. I loved kids! "Of course! I'm great with little, squabbling rascals!!"

-

After a couple of hours later, I was dead tired but Mrs. Igan still hadn't come back yet. I lay against the wooden fence in the shade while Shane sat next to me, leading the little girl who seemed to be getting a bit sleepy. "You tired, brother?"

I nodded. I had been playing with the little girl for awhile. But if you thought _I_ was tired, Jet must've been doubly tired! All day he had been trying to entertain the two boys, giving them piggy back rides and playing Drifters with them. Virginia was taking care of the baby who had erupted in cries a couple of times while she desperately tried to quiet it down. But now it seemed to be getting quite sleepy too. I guess it was just about time for their bedtime. The sun was starting to set in the west, and the sky began darkening little by little.

Jet plopped down on the ground after just giving one boy a piggy back ride. Then the other one jumped on his back. "My turn, my turn!"

Jet groaned. "I'm tired! Oh my aching back..."

The two boys whined and complained when one of them found something underneath Jet's poncho thing.

Why does he wear that anyway?

The boy picked up the metal ARMs curiously. "What is this? Are you a Drifter?! That's SO cool!"

Jet's eyes widened as he tried to reach for his precious ARMs. "H-Hey! Give that back! Th-That's dangerous!" But before he could grab the boy, he began running around.

"Bang! Bang! You're dead!" he laughed. Soon his brother joined in too. Jet desperately tried to get his gun back, scrambling after the two boys.

That was when Virginia sighed and handed me the now sleeping baby, "Hold him for me, Gallows?" I nodded and watched her run up to Jet and the boys.

"Jet! How could you let them get such a dangerous weapon?!" she scolded as she too started chasing after the boys.

"They just took it! Blame them, not me!"

I laughed out loud at the scene and I even heard Shane chuckling a bit! They looked so funny, chasing after two little boys!

Then Virginia stopped. "I've got an idea!" Then without any warning she grabbed Jet's white and red scarf. "Don't you boys want to play with this?" she called.

The boys looked and dropped the ARMs on the ground to run towards the weird scarf. Boy, they were really amused by anything. Jet picked up his gun and sighed in relief, sitting down on the ground again. Soon Virginia came to sit next to him and they watched the kids playing with the scarf. The punk was touching his neck, probably feeling naked without his ugly, torn scarf.

He really doesn't have a sense of fashion does he?

"Sorry," Virginia said. "I know how much you like that scarf."

Jet shrugged. "All good. I got my ARMs back."

"You tired?" she said with a giggle.

"Yeah...kids really tire you out..." he said.

I smirked to myself, rocking the small baby in my arms. Looks like there's about to be some mushy-mushy stuff.

I nudged Shane and saw him nod with a smile on his face as he patted the small girl who was falling asleep on his lap.

"Should we leave them?" he whispered.

I shook my head. "Hell no! Besides, we gotta take care of these kids!" I grinned. "Maybe this will be it!"

Shane sighed. "I doubt it."

Then we turned our attention to the teens again, straining to hear what they were saying since they were a couple of feet away. Luckily we heard everything.

Virginia grinned. "So you don't want to have kids?" she asked with a giggle.

Jet's face became red. "Wh-What?! W-With who?"

Virginia shook her head quickly, realizing what Jet was saying. A blush was obvious on her cheeks. "I-I didn't mean with _me_! I-I was saying...in general..." she stuttered.

"Oh..." Jet said. "I-I knew that..."

Virginia smiled again. "But you know, kids really like you!"

Jet groaned. "I wonder why..." he growled.

"Well, you're funny, sweet at times, caring, and a good friend," Virginia replied slowly, a blush covering her face again.

Jet's blush turned a shade brighter. "...Th-Thanks? But I thought I needed to take 'How to be caring' lessons."

Virginia shrugged. "You care. You just try not to show it."

"Hmph. If that's what you think..."

"I do." Virginia said.

Then there was a complete silence over them as they just watched the two boys playing with the scarf. I turned to Shane. "Do you think one of them will tell now?! I mean the moment is perfect!!" I whispered.

And it was! The mood was set after their mushy love talk, the sun was about to set casting a purplish romantic shade across the sky, the two little boys were playing peacefully with Jet's scarf, and it was all quiet! If one doesn't 'fess up right now, I'll go up to them and make them!

Shane sighed. "I doubt it," he said again.

What was with Shane and doubting? Have some hope, dude! I mean, if those kids had enough guts to fight all those monsters and stuff, they'd have enough guts to spill their feelings, right? They better tell each other how they feel right now!!

Virginia seemed to bring up her courage for a second. "Uhh...Jet?"

"Hm?"

She turned to him slowly. "Uhh...I..."

Jet just looked at her carefully. "Yeah?"

This is it! She's gonna confess!!! Finally!! Go Virginia! I knew you'd be the one with the guts!!

But much to my surprise, she just sighed and stood up.

"Never mind," she said, the blush invading her cheeks again. "It's nothing."

ARGH!! DAMMIT!!!

-

As soon as we got to the hut, the sun was already more than halfway gone. I smelled a wonderful aroma and saw that Gran was done. She had made some chocolate chip cookies. As soon as she saw me, she stood in front of the cookies protectively. "Oh no Gallows. No cookies for y–"

But I wasn't in the mood for this right now. I was so damn irritated! I didn't even feel the urge for the pies that were still sitting on the counter. DAMMIT! Virginia could've told! She could've told him and then this would be all over!! Argh!

"Okay Gran. Well I think I'll just go to sleep now," I said grumpily, stomping up the small flight of stairs to the beds as I ignored their shocked faces.

"Don't you want dinner, Gallows?" Virginia asked.

I shook my head. "Don't feel like it."

"Is he sick?" I heard Granny ask.

But Shane chuckled. He was probably the only one who knew what was wrong with my unusually behavior. "He's feeling a bit irritated."

"That oaf never fails to amaze me."

I plopped down on a bed. I didn't even have the urge to strangle the punk when he called me an oaf! What was wrong with me?! I sighed. I knew what was wrong with me. Virginia and Jet had been so close to telling each other. But then Virginia got all scared! Dammit! I punched the wall hard. It was so annoying!! I had to do something. I had to bring them together or else I'll be irritated for the rest of my life.

Then I heard someone stir and saw Clive sit up in his bed. I forgot he was in here.

"Gallows?" Clive said grumpily as he reached for his glasses on the table next to his bed. "What are you doing?"

I immediately went over to him. "Clive! Please! We gotta do something!!" I pleaded. I know I sounded like a fool but who cares!

Clive looked at me in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"We gotta hook Virginia and Jet up!!"


	4. Failure

**Through the Oaf's Eyes  
****By: **pnaixrose

**Disclaimer:** I don't own WA3 or any of the characters. So please be nice and don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 4:** Failure

Ergh. I really _do_ sound like a fool don't I? After all, here I am begging the nerd to help me out hooking up Virginia and Jet. That's not something that the usual great Gallows would do. No wonder Clive's smirking like that.

I wish he would stop.

"I told you," he said sitting up on the bed he had been lying in. Adjusting his glasses he added, "See? Didn't I tell you?"

I sighed. Great. Now he was rubbing it in! Grr...why does he have to know _everything_?! "Okay, okay," I said. "You win." I might as well have stamped the word "Loser" on my forehead. I wasn't feeling really proud especially with Clive and his big, fat smirk on his face. "Shut up."

But he of course just continued grinning. "I didn't say anything."

Sighing again in frustration, I ignored him and began pacing around the room. "Oh just get up and let's think of something! Fast!"

"What's the hurry? They've got all their years ahead of them."

I stopped in my tracks, one of my feet in midair. They've got all their years ahead of them? That was true. But then again...

A sudden image of me with gray hair and wrinkles appeared. Then two other figures popped out, one a girl with long honey brown graying hair, and one a man with very light hair almost looking completely white. The two were talking and blushing and smiling at each other. But then I started whacking them with the cane that suddenly appeared in elderly me's hands.

For some odd reason, the cane looked oddly familiar. Oh no...I'm a male version of Gran when I grow up!

Shaking my head to get the thought out, I started pacing again. "If they have _all their years _ahead of them and they _still_ don't confess..." I stopped and looked at Clive. "We'd have to suffer all those years too! All those years of blushing and those sickening, sappy smiles!"

I started yelling in desperation..._loudly._ Haha. I must look so stupid.

Clive stood, his serious expression on his face. "Whoa Gallows, calm down. It's not _that _big of a deal. I mean, I'd get frustrated too, but you're overreacting!"

Maybe I was. Maybe I was even going insane. But I didn't want to just leave Virginia and Jet alone like this. Who knows how long I'd hold out? "We should just help them, Clive. I mean, they like each other and yet they don't confess? Aside from being so irritated with them, won't they be suffering too?" I sighed at Clive's baffled face. Gosh...I wasn't very good at explaining myself. "I don't know how to put it. Won't they...be sad or something that they didn't tell each other?" I groaned. I definitely wasn't making any sense.

But Clive nodded his head slightly and patted my shoulder. But his eyes were cast off elsewhere. I knew that look. He was thinking...as always. "You're right, Gallows. If this continues, they will regret not telling each other. They have to get over their fear of rejection." He was the one who sighed this time. "But honestly...I don't think they'll get over it any time soon. Virginia's a strong girl, but some times she thinks too much about her friends. She wants them happy and would do anything to give them that happiness. But since Jet doesn't...well...express his emotions and always covers it up with his blunt ways, Virginia won't ever know what Jet wants to be happy and–"

I groaned. "You're thinking too much again! Just to put it simply: Jet and Virginia are gonna be sad if this continues...and so will we!"

"I guess you're right...for once," he said with his finger to his chin. He looked at me with another smirk of his. "I thought you didn't care about Jet."

I almost hesitated for a second. He was right. I didn't usually care about Jet. But making up an excuse fast, I rolled my eyes. "I don't care about the punk! All I care about is that our leader's happy and we don't get annoyed no more."

"Well, in order to do that we must do something," Clive said.

"Duh! So what are we gonna do?!" I was getting just a bit edgy. I wasn't sure why. Maybe the thought of enduring this just whole...lovey dovey thing if we didn't succeed in our plan made me anxious.

It was silent for a couple of moments as we stood there trying to think up a solution. Surprisingly, I couldn't think of a damn thing! It was like my mind suddenly went blank! If only there was some way...if only the idea would just pop into my head just like that. That would be much easier if that happened. I hoped Clive was storming up a plan in that big head of his. I definitely didn't want to be the one to think of–

"What the hell are you two doing?"

I almost jumped and I even saw Clive look mildly surprised. I guess we were so drowned in our thoughts that we didn't notice anyone slip in. And there by the stairs was none other than the infamous punk looking slightly amused and confused.

Wait...did he hear anything we said?!

"Uhh nothing, Jet. Just thinking," Clive said, sitting back on his bed. He sounded as though he was telling the truth! If that was me talking, I'd probably start stuttering or something. "What are you doing here?"

Although Jet didn't seem like he entirely believed Clive, he seemed to drop the subject. "Virginia sent me. We heard someone screaming a while ago and then some loud voices. And then it suddenly got all quiet. She was worried that something happened especially since the oaf came up here without eating dinner, which is by the way very unusual."

I frowned but didn't go ballistic like usual. It was probably because I was still trying to figure out a plan for the lovey dovies. I didn't even say anything rude to him. I guess he noticed because he looked at me like I was odd.

"Are you sick?" he asked suspiciously.

I shook my head almost calmly.

"Anyway Jet," Clive interrupted before Jet could say anything else. I have to thank him for that later. "Why'd Virginia send you up here? Couldn't she have come here by herself?"

Jet rolled his eyes and seemed to completely forget about my odd behavior as he looked at the floor almost angrily. "I don't know why the hell she sent me. She's probably just lazy or tired or something. Damn. I told her carrying all that wood today was gonna tire her out. She never listens..." he mumbled.

At the exact moment, Clive and I looked at each other, a knowing look on our faces. Jet seemed a little bit more concerned than usual for our leader today. And we knew why.

_I_ knew why.

Haha. I think that's the first time I ever thought that. After all, this is one of the few times I'm in on a secret.

Jet must've seen us look at each other because he spoke again. "What?"

Gee, he's really observant isn't he?

I shook my head. "N-Nothing." Great...I stuttered. Told you I wasn't good at this.

Fortunately, Clive helped me out. "You just seemed a bit more worried about her these days," he said casually. Another silent 'thank you' was sent to him with my mind.

Jet snorted. Not a very polite thing to do but hey, it was Jet. "Whatever," he said as he turned around. "I'm gonna keep eating. Come down if you want anything." As he started down the steps, he stopped and turned to me. "Feel better later, okay oaf? It's weird not seeing you gobble something down."

Oh how I hate that guy...

-

We still didn't think up a brilliant plan like I wanted to even the next day. I had been thinking about it so hard, I slept really late and almost missed breakfast!! Luckily, I didn't. And luckily it was Gran's special breakfast. Bacon and eggs. Well, I know that may not be that special but with Baskar Colony being pretty far from any towns to support a lot of food, I doubt we'd get anything grander even though it's day one of the Baskar Festival. It's okay though. I'd eat bacon and eggs over anything else if I had to. Wait...never mind. I just got a craving for those pies again.

I looked at the counter almost longingly. They still sat there. Six beautiful pies just waiting there! It was almost dissing them by just letting them sit there! Luckily, they weren't too cold. Gran had heated it up a bit during the night. But she'd let me have a teeny tiny piece right? She won't be _that_ cruel–

BOINK!

Rubbing my head I glared at the old geezer at the head of the table. You know, I should really take that cane away from her. She could hurt anyone with that thing. I'd be doing Filgaia a favor!

"Eat your breakfast and don't be staring at my pies!" Gran scolded. "You know how much I paid for that food in your plate?!" She started muttering something stupid about kids being really disrespectful as everyone at the table continued to eat.

Feh. I'm not a kid anymore! I'm an adult! I can be as rude as I want!

A comfortable silence continued as everyone ate and ate. Only the clinking of forks was heard as everyone chewed. I guess even though lots of things were going on outside, we were still a little sleepy. Either that or they simply didn't care about the festival. But I doubt that. After all, _Virginia_ was in the group. Actually, it's a surprise she's not smiling even though it's morning.

It _was_ pretty early so I don't blame her. It was about six in the morning for goodness sake's! I'm still a bit groggy actually. I'm lucky the punk woke me up right before breakfast started. We had to have an early breakfast because the festival opening ceremony starts in an hour. I don't remember it starting _this_ early before. I guess everyone's a bit anxious for it to start. Well then again, it could be the fact that when you're a kid waiting for something really exciting, you don't care what time you wake up. Guess I really _did_ grow up.

"Finished. May I be excused?" Shane said. Indeed, his plate was completely empty. I guess he's one person who's pretty excited about the festival. Well, actually he's always been a pretty fast eater. "I'll wash dishes later."

Gran nodded her approval. Gee...he actually _volunteered _to wash dishes. Uhh...just pretend yesterday's incident with the dishes didn't happen okay?

Shane stood and pushed in his seat. He gave us all a quick grin. "Well, I'm going to help them set up for the starting ceremony a bit. I'll see you all later," he said. Then he exited through the door waving a bit before he left.

Only a few silent moments later, everyone else finished with their breakfast, including myself. That was about the time when we realized the growing murmuring outside. People must already be waiting for the opening ceremony outside. I guess we all started to feel a bit excited now. Virginia for instance had awoken from her sleepiness and her eyes were practically glowing.

"I can't wait until it starts," she said happily. "I wonder if they put up more decorations since yesterday."

"All you gotta do is take a peek outside, you know," Jet suggested as Gran got up to collect all the plates from the table.

But the girl shook her head in reply and stuck out her tongue. "Dummy, I wanna be surprised!"

Gran smiled while Jet rolled his eyes. "You know, Jet," Gran said setting the dirty dishes on a pile on the counter, "Girls love getting surprises."

It was subtle, but I definitely saw Gran flash a wink at both me and Clive. We glanced at each other and smirked. She was helping out too, I guess.

I noticed Jet grow slightly red in the face. Aww...too bad he wasn't blushing that hard. I love it when he looks like a tomato head! It's so damn funny! "R-Really?"

Granny started laughing when Virginia nodded with a smile on her face. "Girls love that! Oh and romantic moments too!" She sighed dreamily and got a dazed look in her eyes. I must admit, I was pretty freaked out. She never usually acted like that. But I figured because she was always with us three guys so she didn't really show her 'girly feelings.' Ha. I guess even Virginia must be kinda girly. After all, she _is_ in love with someone. A very annoying and rude someone but never the less, she still liked him...

...only if one of them would confess.

I watched in amusement when Jet grew silent, trying to think about what she said. Maybe he'd actually do something about it! Maybe he thought that since girls love surprises and romantic moments, he'd confess his undying love to her one night under the moon and stars looking deeply into her eyes!

...man...was I getting girly all of a sudden?

Jet leaned back in his chair, causing it to stand only on the two back legs. He didn't put his feet on the table like he'd usually do though. Once Gran saw him do that and got ballistic. And Jet never really got in trouble with Granny before so it was pretty weird.

He seemed to notice that Clive, Gran, and I were looking at him. We all pretty much had the same thought in our heads I figured. Jet snorted and closed his eyes as if annoyed. "Girls are so weird..."

Ha. I had to admit. He was right. Girls _are_ weird. "Ha. I actually agree with you on that," I said with a grin.

Clive chuckled and nodded slightly in agreement. "They're so hard to please sometimes."

Immediately, we saw Gran and our leader frown. Uh-oh. Maybe we made a mistake there. "No we're not!" Virginia said. "We're not hard to please at all! Sometimes even the littlest thing you guys do for us really matter!"

The nerd beside me thought for awhile. "Actually, you're half wrong and half right. I remember when we were younger while I was courting my Catherine, it was pretty hard for me to get her presents and such. Sometimes I would give her a single flower and she'd be so incredibly happy. But when I got her this really nice vase, she got angry. Said I shouldn't have bought it." He started rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "She threw it at me and it me on the head."

Ha! That's a pretty amusing story! But still...ouch.

"That's just how girls are. They like presents, but not the big presents," I added. "Maybe it's their moods. Sometimes they just suddenly switch their moods."

Woops.

Gran hit me on the head again as Virginia just glared. AGH! Granny seemed to always have the same mood!

"As a matter of fact," Virginia said sharply, frowning at me, "Girls like simple things. You don't have to waste your money on us." She paused and looked thoughtfully in the air. A large grin appeared on her face. "Well...not _all_ the time."

She and Gran glanced at each other and started laughing for god knows why. Err...watch them somehow manipulate us to spend all our Gil buying them presents.

Them two girls make a scary team.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...I'm still agreeing with the punk. Girls _are_ weird." I looked at both Gran and Virginia. "...Both young and old..." I whispered to Clive with a snicker.

"HEY! I HEARD THAT!"

-

We all went to the opening ceremony finally and after a lot of singing and after person after person after person after person had spoken, they finally started the thing. About time too! It lasted almost and hour! I swear, my legs got all jello-like by standing for so long!

But I must say, they did a pretty good job putting up last minute decorations and such. It looked even brighter and more cheerful than yesterday's!

It was just me, Clive, the punk and Virginia now. Gran and Shane were off somewhere...probably working at our stand.

Our _pie_ stand.

Remind me later to go visit them okay? Them, and every other pie stand around here.

"So what should we all do now?" Clive asked as we watched the other people swarm around us. The younger ones were already going towards the games, while the adults were going towards the other stands. We really should get going too before we get smooshed like pancakes by the crowd.

After a silent minute of us just standing there trying to think of what to do, we heard a groan from Jet.

"I'm not really into festivals," he mumbled. "So I'll just go and–"

"Oh no you don't!" Virginia interrupted, grabbing his arm before he could take a step away. "A festival should be spent together!"

He groaned. "But–"

"C'mon! Let's go to Mrs. Igan's stand! Maybe we can see the kids too!" she exclaimed as she dragged him away, Jet mumbling something under his breath.

Boy. _Already_ they're acting like a married couple, eh?

Clive and I stood there, watching the girl literally pull the boy behind her. We glanced at each other and shrugged. I guess this time may be a good moment to be talking about our top secret plan.

If only we had one.

"So you got any ideas yet, Clive?" I asked.

He shook his head slowly. "Can't think of one. Did you?"

I shook my head. Great. We had no idea at all what we should do next. This was hard! If only it didn't require this much thinking! Groaning, I threw my arms up in the air. "AH! It's so hard to think of something! We're _Drifters_! Not matchmakers! It's just like in Gran's romance books." I made a disgusted face. "I read one once. It was all mushy and stuff. I just don't get how–"

Suddenly I saw Clive grin slyly. I looked at him in confusion but then I just realized what I was rambling about. I groaned.

"No! I'm not going to look for Gran's romance books!"

Clive frowned. "Do you want to get this whole Jet and Virginia thing over with or not?" he said.

I thought about it and groaned. "Okay, okay," I gave in. Then I realized something. That meant...we had to wait for pies?! "B-But that means we can't see stuff in the festival!"

The nerd merely shrugged and grinned. "Oh well. You're the one who started talking about those books."

Argh...Me and my big mouth...

-

"I'm _not_ going in there!"

"Aw, c'mon, Gallows!!"

"No!"

I heard him groan and turn towards the door in front of us. We were in my cozy little home again. But as long as I knew, there was one room that wasn't cozy at all. Granny's room.

Sure, Shane and I used to go in there all the time when we were smaller. We used to get scared of the dark and couldn't sleep and stuff so we ran to her room for comfort. But when we got older, Granny totally sealed off her room from both of us. I respect her privacy and all that so I don't want to go looking through her stuff for the books.

I didn't want to get beaten to death either.

Gran always used to get so angry whenever either Shane or I went in there. She always exploded and got so angry. I didn't want to get on her bad side especially when I had those pies waiting for me.

"Why don't you go in, Clive?" I asked. "Gran won't get mad at you."

Clive shook his head. "That would be pretty rude of me to barge in on a woman's bedroom."

"Then what about me?! How come you want _me _to barge in?!" I shouted.

He grinned. "Because you're her grandson!"

I frowned. "No! Absolutely no! I'm still not going in!"

"How did you see the book in the first place if you're not allowed in there?" he asked.

"She left it on the table. I just picked it up there and read some." I cringed at the memory. "When she found out, she got so angry." I remember what exactly happened. I got so scared of her, I hid in my room for two days. I groaned again as I heard laughter and talking from outside. "Can we just go to the festival? I don't wanna go in there!"

Clive faked a sigh and took a step towards the door leading outside. "Okay. If you say so. I mean, Jet and Virginia's relationship may be depending on this, but whatever. If you really want to abandon you're friends' emotions like that, we can."

Damn. I hate him.

"Okay, okay! I'll go!" I said in frustration, putting my hand on the doorknob. I saw a satisfied smile on his face.

Jet and Virginia better thank me because if I get caught...

...I'll be dead meat.

"Great!" Clive said cheerfully. "I'll warn you if anyone comes."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with," I grumbled as I turned the knob.

I tiptoed in the room and immediately the aroma of...Granny hit my nostrils. You know. That old people smell? Glancing around the room, I realized that Gran was a pretty neat person. Well, I guess she'd have to be, eh? After all, she had to take care of a slob like me and...well...a very neat Shane.

Making up my mind, I decided to check out her shelves first. There were bunches of books there I remember. But when I went towards it, the books were all gone! All that was there were little trinkets and little statues and stuff. Granny must have done a little redecorating.

"You find anything, yet?" I heard Clive say from the doorway.

"Nah. I think she moved everything around. I haven't been in here for a long time after all."

"Well, keep looking!"

Sighing, I did what he said. But the only other things I saw were a dresser with a mirror and her bed. And I _definitely_ wasn't going to go through her dresser. I would be dead before I even reached for the handle.

"I can't find it!" I said with a groan.

"Keep looking!!"

Reminding myself that this was for Virginia, I scanned the place again, this time very carefully. This time, I spotted a trunk hidden in the corner behind the dresser. I hadn't noticed it before. I went to it and noticed that it was pretty old looking. I guessed it would look pretty nice if it were brand new though. Boy, Gran must've had this for a long time.

"Oh _HI __HALLE_" I heard Clive say loudly.

Shit. Gran was here.

And sure enough I heard her voice. Good thing the door wasn't open. "Hi, Clive. I just came inside to get a package for my friend who came by the stand. I always forget to give it to him. Umm...what are you doing in front of my bedroom door?"

I started panicking but I spotted the package she was talking about sitting on her neat bed. Clive better not let her through here!

The voice outside the door began again. "Uh...nothing. I-I...uh..."

"Well, Clive, can you please move a bit? I need to get to my room."

I looked around frantically for a place to hide or a way to escape. I couldn't fit under the bed anymore so that was out. The only other way was out through the window. But it was too small for me. When I went over to it, it couldn't even fit my shoulders through it.

Basically, I was trapped.

And probably dead too.

To make what happened next simple, Gran spotted me and started yelling so hard that I thought she was going to have a heart attack. Through the whole thing, I was just standing there wincing every once in awhile. You know what _really_ sucked?

She said I couldn't have any of her pies!!

-

I glared at the guy next to me as deadly as I can. I hate him! He cost me those delicious pies! Oh, I knew this was a bad idea! How come no one ever listens to me?! DAMMIT! But I guess I seemed pretty scary because he started chuckling quite uneasily.

The green haired guy fiddled with his glasses nervously. "Uh...woops?"


	5. The Power of Jealousy

**Through the Oaf's Eyes  
****By:** pnaixrose

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Wild Arms 3 or any of its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 5:** The Power of Jealousy

ARGH! I _hate_ him! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!

That damn nerd...

That's basically how I felt as soon as I woke up on day two of the festival. I'm _still_ grouchy and haven't talked to him since yesterday. Can you blame me? He got me into trouble!

Now I can't get my freakin _pies_!

I stomped around the festival grounds, passing by all the pie stands with a hungry look. Granny had told _everyone_ in the colony about what I had done and advised all of them not to give me any pies. And they were obeying her!

Maybe if I walk around like a big, pathetic, hungry guy they'll gimme some.

Hell...I _already_ look like a big, pathetic, hungry guy.

"Aw, Gallows! Don't be so sad!" Virginia, who was walking around with me said. "There's lots of other things you can do today besides the pies! Like there's games, things to buy..."

Virginia's so nice sometimes. But I was just so let down from yesterday. I had been expecting the pies ever since we came! And the pie eating contest is tomorrow! Maybe if I'm really good, Gran will let me compete.

Haha...like _that_ will happen.

Maybe I'll just get Shane to sneak me some. He's a cool guy like that.

"Don't try, Virginia," the punk said. "That oaf will never think about anything else but pies."

Damn. Why'd _he_ come along?

Another annoying voice came. "No Jet, you're wrong. Pies and women are what he thinks about."

Grr...and why'd _he_ have to come too?!

Oh wait. That's right. We're a _gang_. We're the gang who's supposed to be killing off Beatrice and save Filgaia and instead we're here in Baskar Colony at a festival. Boy, what great heroes we are.

"Shut up, Clive!" I yelled. "This is all your fault anyway!"

He grinned. "I said I was sorry."

That was bull. He didn't look a bit sorry and he knew it. He was enjoying my sorrow.

"I still don't understand why you guys barged into her room like that," Virginia said disapprovingly. "You knew you would've gotten caught."

Jet scoffed. "He's even dumber than I thought. Halle has eyes everywhere."

I swear...I'm about to explode right now. That's why when I heard what Virginia said next, she was from then on my very favorite person in the world.

The female of the group frowned as she stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "Jet! Don't say that! Apologize!"

Jet shook his head and looked at her like she was crazy. "Hell no."

But Virginia didn't back down. "Jet!"

He glared at her for a moment as she glared back. After a second of them silently fighting, Jet obviously lost. That loser...losing to a girl.

"Sorry," he mumbled and Virginia gave a satisfied grin.

Clive smirked. "Didn't know you'd bow down to Virginia's powers so easily, Jet."

"Shut the hell up."

Hehe...interesting...

-

BORING! Today was boring. The festival was a lot more fun when I was younger. Eh but that was expected. I _did_ grow up after all. But I _did_ enjoy seeing all the girls–ahem– people roaming about.

I was tired though and rested on my bed, looking at the ceiling. Maybe it was the fact that it was as hot as a desert outside, but I didn't feel like going out there anymore. I was tired.

And bored.

Maybe we should leave soon and go kick Beatrice's ass. Everything seems to get slower and duller when I'm not kicking some monster's butt!

"Hey Gallows."

I growled. Not _him_. The second person in the world I hate the most.

The _nerd_.

I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. It didn't work though. He knew that I was up. I do that thing where if you close your eyes and aren't asleep, your eyelids flicker. That's why when I younger, Granny always knew when I was up at night or not.

"Gallows look, I'm sorry that you...don't get to receive the pies that you've wanted," he said chuckling.

He thinks I'm sort of pig doesn't he?! I bet everyone thinks that! Besides the fact that Gran's pies were really, really good, that wasn't the only reason!

I rolled my eyes and sat up. "It isn't only that. Gran's mad at me again. You know how long it takes for her to cool down and finally accept me as being her grandson again? It'll take _days_! _Months_! Maybe even _years_!" I said with a frown. "After all, she's still quite angry I quit being a priest."

"Well I apologize once more. You see...I still need your help with Jet and Virginia," Clive said sheepishly.

WHAT?! Was he crazy? What was his stupid plan now? I grunted and shook my head. "Forget it! I'm not getting into any more trouble!"

"Don't worry! You won't get into trouble with Halle again! I promise! I've come up with a new idea that will prove as a solution for things. Or at least help them out. It's fool proof! It cannot be beat!"

I shook my head. "No way. Nope. Sorry." I just couldn't trust him a second time. By the end of this plan I bet I'd be beaten by Granny's cane again. I might even get kicked out of Granny's house!

Clive smirked that evil smirk. "I knew you'd say that. That's why I talked to Halle. She said if you help them tell each other their feelings, she'll forgive you."

This caught my ears. Did I just hear that right? She'd forgive me? Why would she do that? Was this whole Jet and Virginia thing that important to her? Nah. She just enjoys seeing a couple being all lovey dovey. It's her sick form of entertainment.

I sighed. The idea of Gran not mad at me sounded good. And Clive knew I would agree. I could see it in his sick smile of his. I sighed and threw my arms up in frustration. "Fine. I'll do it. What's the plan?"

Clive grinned slyly. "It's the power of jealousy."

Huh?

-

What a stupid guy. His plan was so stupid.

It was perfect.

Getting Jet jealous? It was a great idea! Knowing him, he'd probably blow up and sooner or later admit his feelings! Didn't know Clive was _that_ smart.

But there was one tiny catch.

Now _all_ that nerd told me to do was try to find a way to get Jet jealous.

How am I supposed to find something like that? It's not like ideas fall from the sky! He said there's probably an interesting event going on in the festival that might do the trick. But gosh...Just because I'm _from_ Baskar Colony doesn't mean I know every single event going on!

Roaming around, I looked at the event signs people had put up. None seemed like something that would get the punk jealous.

I sighed. I'll never find something! Frowning, I kicked at the dirt and leaned against a stand while I thought for awhile.

Wait! What was Clive doing while I'm out here doing this!? He's probably sitting back expecting me do all the work just because I'm from Baskar Colony! That damn-

"Hey Gallows! I heard you were back but there's so many people here I didn't have a chance to drop by Halle's to say hi!"

I turned and saw a guy at the stand I was leaning against. Whoa...didn't notice him there.

Hey, wait a second! This stand looked familiar...

"You remember me?" the guy asked with a smile.

I grinned. "Of course, Mr. Igan! How you doing? Hey that reminds me, I saw your wife and kids the other day. My two friends were helping her out with building the stand." I pointed to the stand I was leaning against.

He looked surprised. "Oh! She told me about them! She said you guys helped out a lot especially with the kids!"

I shrugged. Hehe...I remember that day. That's when I first found out about Jet and Virginia, the day when they were playing with the kids. That was a weird day.

Then I noticed the sheets of paper lined up on his stand. "What's this?" I asked curiously, seeing the word 'Prince,' 'Princess' and 'Villian' on top of some papers.

Mr. Igan smiled. "I forgot you haven't been here for awhile. It's a new festival event that some kids suggested. People sign up to perform at the play tonight and we randomly pick one to act just minutes before the play." He laughed. "It'll be funny. They'll be reading from scripts they've never even seen before and they'll have to act the part. It's going to be hilarious! You going to sign up? I made the costumes myself."

Impressive, but expected of Mr. Igan. After all, he made the clothing for the Colony. He probably was out two days ago to get some last minute fabric or something.

But then I noticed two sheets blank.

"Hey, how come there are no names under the prince and the princess?" I asked.

He sighed. "I guess the people don't wanna be the center of the show. But it really is a shame. The show can't go on without them. If I don't get a prince and a princess, I'll have to cancel the show."

That's a real shame. Mr. Igan worked so hard to make those costumes and no one wanted to be the two main characters? Heck, I knew why they didn't want to be the prince and the princess. It would be so damn embarrassing! They were bound to have to act like they fell in love and be all close and stuff and-

Wait...

"Mind if I see the script?" I asked.

An evil plan was starting to form in my head.

He looked uncertain. "Well...I don't know. No one's supposed to really know about it. But...since you helped my family out the other day, I think you can have a peek."

Yes! Thank you!

He handed me a set of papers and I scanned the page.

Bingo!

I handed the papers back, a smile still on my face. "Do you have a pen?"

As he handed me one, I wrote two names. One under 'Prince' and one under 'Princess.'

This was going to be good...

-

"Oh hey, Gallows!" Virginia chirped as I went inside our hut. Everyone was there resting from the busy day. "It sure is crowded out there!"

I nodded, a smile still on my face. I still can't believe I did that. That must've been the most evil thing I did. Oh well. It was bound to get interesting. I couldn't wait another minute.

"Oh yeah," I said, "Some guy was handing out flyers outside. About some play or something?"

Boy was I good.

As I thought, Virginia's eyes lit up as Jet let out a loud groan. "A play?"

I nodded again and handed it to her. "Here."

She took it and giggled. "_'Come to our first annual Baskar Colony play. Who are the actors and actresses? You! Sign up before dusk at the Igan stand to play in the parts of the characters! They are randomly selected just minutes before the actual play begins_.' Sounds like fun!" She turned to Clive, Jet and Shane who were sitting at the table behind her. "Let's go, okay? Besides, the Igans are part of it!"

"Sounds stupid," Jet spat. "Those people are going to make fools of themselves. They don't even know the lines."

Yeah, I agree with him. I wouldn't want to do that either. But it _will_ be funny watching other people making fools of themselves...especially two certain people.

Shane smiled. "That's what makes it fun. I heard some people talking about it. Turns out it's popular and a lot of people are going."

Jet grunted.

Shane laughed and turned to Virginia. "I'll go with you, Virginia, if you'd like."

Her emerald eyes lit up and she jumped in excitement. "Yay! We'll have a wonderful time!"

"I'll go too," Jet grumbled suddenly.

I smirked, wondering why Jet changed his mind all of a sudden. Heh. Jealousy already?...

Virginia brightened even more. "Yay! We'll have an even more wonderful time! You'll come too, right Clive? Gallows?"

I nodded. Of course I was going! I wasn't going to miss this for the world!!

Virginia turned to Clive for his answer. He looked at me for a second and I gave him an "I-did-it" look. Smiling, he turned to Virginia and nodded. "I'm sure it'll be interesting."

Hehe. He was right about that!

-

"Jet! Stop lagging behind! I wanna get a good seat!" Virginia exclaimed, dragging a sour looking punk.

We trudged through a crowd standing and sitting at the center of town. They were all facing one way, which was obviously the stage.

"Virginia...I'm not some kind of dog!" Jet growled.

I kept my mouth shut before insulting him. I could've said so many things right then but I was just too proud of myself for doing what I did. Trust me, even Granny would be proud of me!

"Here are some good spots!" Shane said. Good. They can all see the entire stage.

Virginia nodded. "Yup! These are _really _good spots!"

"Are you sure you can see?" Jet asked with a smirk, "You're pretty short!"

Virginia pouted. "Hey! I am _not_ short!!"

"Yeah you are."

"No!"

Will those two ever change?

While the two rambled on, Clive came up to me and said in a quiet voice. "What are we doing here, Gallows?"

I smirked. "I found what you wanted me to find."

He looked surprised. I bet he didn't expect me to find something. But I did! I proved him wrong for once! Now, this plan's going to be a success and I'll get to win back Gran's approval and we can all be happy and eat pies!

"What's going on?"

Heh. The almighty Clive was going to be surprised too for once. Everyone was.

I shrugged and grinned. "It's the power of jealousy."

He raised an eyebrow. Ha! Now who sounds smart?

"Shush you two!" I heard Shane say to the two bickering teenagers. "It's started!"

Virginia jumped and forgot Jet insulting her shortness...ahem...I mean height.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Mr. Igan said loudly in front of everyone, "Welcome to the first Baskar Colony play where _you_ are the actors and actresses!" People cheered and when they died down again, he continued. "We'll now announce the randomly chosen person who will be playing the characters!"

I bit my lip when I noticed something I had overlooked. What if someone else signed up for the parts? Then that would flush my plans just fall down the drain, wouldn't it? Hopefully, no one else signed up for the princess and prince parts...

Everyone was hushed as Mr. Igan continued once again. "The part of the princess is...a Miss Virginia!"

I smirked once again as I saw Virginia's shocked face. "B-But I didn't...m-me?"

Everyone clapped as the pale girl looked at us for help. Jet was slightly grinning and looking at her with a "ha-ha" look. She probably took it as a dare and gathered her courage and walked to the front. I knew she wouldn't back down, that she would never let Jet Enduro have the satisfaction of letting him see her scared. Oops. If she ever found out that I had put her name there, she'd me killed. Oh well.

At least it seemed no one else signed up for the parts. That means the prince would be...

"For the second main character the prince, our very own Shane Carradine!"

Shane let out a yelp, obviously as shocked as Virginia. People from the colony cheered very loud and he stiffly walked to the front next to Virginia in confusion.

But I took a peek at Jet and my smirk widened. This was exactly what I wanted to see...

His violet eyes had turned a shade darker and were twitching, his mouth in a tight frown, his palms balled into fists, a muscle in his jaw jumped, and he was stiffly standing there staring at the two people standing at the front.

Needless to say...he was angry.

And I was loving it. Ha! Go me!

Clive realized what I had done and turned to me with a grin. He gave me a nod. Heh. See that? Even the great nerd Clive thought my plan was good.

But I turned back to Jet and almost regretted what I did. He looked angry..._real_ angry. Just like when he found out he wasn't exacly human. Uh-oh.

Clive noticed too and suddenly became concerned for him. "Hey Jet, you alright?"

"Shut the fuck up," he said slowly and darkly.

Clive immediately backed down and we looked at each other. Whoa...talk about jealousy...

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

I knew what was in that script...and Jet wasn't going to like it one bit.

Oh shit...maybe I just made a big mistake.


	6. Jet Blows Up

**Through the Oaf's Eyes  
By:** pnaixrose

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Wild Arms 3 or its characters.

* * *

**Chapter 6:** Jet Blows Up

Jet kept his now dark eyes staring straight ahead at the makeshift stage, I saw the crowd whooping at the princess and prince. Obviously, they knew something romantic was going to happen in the play between the two characters. I would've been laughing my butt off at Virginia's and Shane's red faces but I was actually worried. Maybe I had gone too far?

I saw a muscle in Jet's jaw twitch.

Yeah. I definitely had.

The nerd knew it too. I could tell by the small frown on his face. Man, and I'd actually thought that things were going to turn up for me!

Damn. I thought this would be the perfect plan to get the punk jealous! I swear that when I put Virginia's and Shane's names on the lists for the characters, I just knew it would work. I was right…after all Jet _was_ jealous. But it had worked _too_ well. He wasn't just jealous…he was furious!

And Clive and I just stood there next to him, feeling the burning jealousy.

Whoa. Talk about scary.

Mr. Igan continued his explanation of the play when the crowd finally quieted down. He gave out sheets of paper to the actors in the front. The scripts.

Hopefully they won't read the end.

"Now before we continue," Mr. Igan said with a smile on his face, "There are a few rules. Characters aren't allowed to look ahead in their scripts."

I sighed in relief. Thank the Guardians!

Our host of the evening got out a box with clothes in it and handed the outfits to the appropriate characters. "Now here are the costumes," Mr. Igan said. "Most of them you can just slip on right now. It's just a little something to add flavor…" He winked. "…I made them so they obviously will look good on you, right?"

The crowd around us laughed good-naturedly, but I still stood there stiffly. I couldn't help but think how stupid I am. If Jet really did like Virginia that much, wouldn't you think that I would at least think of the consequences? Wouldn't you think that I would at least conclude that maybe Jet would get really, really angry that he's on the verge of exploding?

Ugh…how stupid can I get? Why would I ever do that to Jet? Am I really that cruel?

Wait a minute. Aren't I supposed to hate the kid? Why do I feel so sorry for him?

Oh well. Who cares?

When I looked up at the area the play was taking place, I saw an embarrassed Virginia with a shiny gold crown on top of her head, a matching scepter, and a pink slip-on tutu around her waist. Shane, on the other hand, was wearing a simple velvet cape, a crowd placed on top of his shaggy hair, and a belt around his waist that held a sword. Fake I hoped. The other characters were similarly dressed. The funniest was the villain though. The man had a fake, curly moustache, a black cape and the weirdest wig and hat I've ever seen in my life.

I would've been laughing my head off along with the crowd at how stupid they looked up there but it seemed Jet would growl if I even move an inch. It was so scary. Even a couple of strangers around us took a step away from him.

Note to self: Don't piss off Jet Enduro.

"And now," our host continued as he moved out of the way, "Begin the play!"

The audience hushed in expectance as the first character began the story and the other characters went to the places their scripts told them to go to. The first character to speak was Shane, the prince.

"Um…" my brother said nervously. Boy, was he nervous. I could tell because the script in his hands was shaking. I bet Shane never saw _this_ coming when he had volunteered to help out the colony with the festival. "I-I am tired of having this conversation with you, Father," he said weakly. "I-I will not marry."

A few friendly chuckles were heard throughout the crowd. Make sure to remind me to tell Shane not to have a career in entertainment. No offense or anything to my little brother, but…

…he sucks at acting. But don't tell him I said that.

Another man, obviously the king because of the huge crown that kept falling off his head, stepped up and read from the bunch of papers in front of him. "Do you want your kingdom to fail, son? You're marrying the princess and that's final," the guy said, trying to hold on to his crown.

Mr. Igan's voice boomed from somewhere we couldn't see. He was probably on top of a hut or something. Not only was he the costume designer and coordinator, he also seemed to be the narrator. He surely had his work cut out for him. "That day, the princess from the neighboring kingdom set off in a carriage to the stubborn prince's castle."

Shane and the king stepped to the side of the stage. Virginia and two other people who seemed to be her mother and father stood in front of the former characters. I noticed Shane and Virginia look down at their scripts and turn red. My face fell. I knew what was to happen next. After all, I had read the script. I shut my eyes tight, waiting for the next lines. They didn't come as fast as I thought they would though. As expected, Virginia and Shane were fidgeting on stage, trying to decide whether or not to do what the script said. The audience seemed to notice and laughter started to fill among them.

"C'mon, you two," Mr. Igan said with a laugh. He of course knew what was written in that script too. "No backing out of it now, you know."

The two main characters glanced at each other sheepishly. They both knew that the man was right. "N-Nice to meet you, your majesty," Virginia said as she took a stiff bow.

I opened an eye and glanced at Jet. It was coming. And when it did Jet was going to be angry as hell.

Shane let out a frustrated sigh on the stage. "M-My princess…uh…" He grew red. "My ideas of marriage suddenly vanished when I…" He looked down sheepishly, hiding his eyes. "…when I saw your b-beautiful face."

Hoots and catcalls filled the air as he said it. But even over all the laughter and levity of the entire crowd, I could actually feel Jet's fury. It brought shivers up my spine as I peeked at his face. His eyes were so dark and narrow that you'd actually think his eyes were almost black instead of violet. His palms were balled into tight fists. What was even freakier was that he was shaking.

Taking a step back, I looked over to Clive who was as silent as I was. He actually looked kinda…scared.

I mentally slapped myself as I remembered what else happens in the play, especially the end of it. If you thought Jet was angry now, wait until later. He'd be beyond than angry. In fact, I think he'd be even beyond than beyond being angry.

Oh shit. This is all my fault, ain't it?

-

About ten minutes later, the play was almost done. It was a short play thankfully. I don't think I could stand there much longer.

Clive tried talking to him. He tried to tell the punk that maybe they shouldn't watch anymore. But Jet just stubbornly – and angrily – denied by saying the same thing over and over again: "Shut up." I didn't know what to do. Jet didn't want to move and we obviously couldn't stop the play right in the middle.

And for once, I think Clive was stumped too.

I turned my attention to the center again, almost wanting them to never come to the end of it. I knew what the finale was. And if Jet got angry when the "prince" and "princess" just simply hugged or pretended to flirt with each other, I know for a fact that Jet definitely wasn't to like it.

Shane had just saved Virginia from the evil villain who happened to be the princess's advisor and was recently hugging her stiffly. Wow. He looked like a plank of wood up there. Same with Virginia.

"O-Oh," the princess stuttered fakely as she read aloud from the piece of paper in her hand. "Thank you for saving me."

Her savior gulped and read his next lines. "I-I must admit something. I'm quite a selfish prince. I saved you not to save your kingdom…but to…" Shane paused. "…see your smiling face all through my life."

Catcalls, laughter, and hoots filled the air again. I must say that even though Jet wasn't enjoying the play very much, the audience certainly did. In fact, it was a huge success so far! Not in Jet's eyes though. Oh no. _Especially_ not in that punk's eyes. I heard Jet let out a low growl that was buried beneath the audience's very different response to the scene. Even though I could barely even hear him, I _still_ felt the shivers run up my back.

Damn. He's _that_ scary!

Or maybe it was the guilt. He was going through all this because of me. How ironic. I finally do something that gets him pissed off and I feel guilty.

The crowd's applause disappeared once more and the play continued. It was almost done. The finale.

And here it comes…

"O-Oh my prince," our leader said, "Thank you again." Then as I expected, her emerald eyes widened with surprise as her eyes scanned the script in her hands. I saw an uncertain look crossed her face as she looked up at the prince across from her.

Shane was in no better condition. He too must've read the next part of the script. He was pale as ever as he stood up there. He reminded me of a ghost. Or better yet, he reminded me of when I was little and Granny used to try to swoop down and kiss me. I shivered.

Not _that_ was a scary thought.

"Mr. Igan," Shane said, still pale. "I-I can't do this."

The man laughed heartily. "C'mon Shane. It's not real. It's for a play for heaven's sakes. Go for it."

"But-"

"Shane," Mr. Igan replied, "Think of how many people will come to next year's festival if this play is a success. Baskar Colony will be better off, right?"

Shane looked at the man with uncertainty with a steady frown on his face. Then he turned to Virginia who was standing there stiffly.

Uh-oh. As I thought. Shane would never back down out of something. That little brother of mine always listened to whatever people say, especially when it came to the good of the colony. I sighed heavily. Shane was going to do it. Darnit! Mr. Igan was exaggerating. Shane didn't have to **_kiss_** someone to get the colony more popular!

Woopsie. I spilled it didn't I? But you probably saw it coming anyway.

In the front, Shane took a shaky step towards our leader and placed his hands on her waist. He nervously dipped his head a little bit towards her face. The crowd got excited again when they figured out what was next and Jet's blood was probably boiling so much by now that he was a smoldering pile beside me.

I glanced his way and my eyes widened.

He wasn't there! Where the hell did he go!

Suddenly the crowd got silent again and all turned towards the stall nearby, whispering. What the heck was going on? I saw Clive next to me looking towards the top of the stall with his jaw dropped. I turned too.

Oh shit.

A certain silver haired punk was standing on top of it like a madman. Actually, the fact that he was a madman right now wasn't what scared me. It was the fact that Jet was an angry, jealous madman that I feared.

"DON'T YOU DARE!!"

Before I knew it, he threw something towards the stage. I didn't see what it was but I knew what it was by the orange whir I saw.

His boomerang.

I knew I should've burned that thing a long time ago.

Before I knew it, my brother was knocked down, obviously unconscious. The people around us were in chaos. They didn't know what the hell was happening. One minute they were enjoying a rather interesting play, the next minute the main character gets his lights knocked out. Poor people. I'd be confused too.

"JET!" a voice yelled over the crowd. She obviously wasn't pale or nervous anymore. If anything, she was definitely angry. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" She knelt next to Shane and turned back to the punk. "You hurt him, you jerk!"

Jet glared intensely at the woman who yelled at him but said nothing. Then he jumped down from the stall and disappeared in the chaotic crowd.

He has a knack for disappearing doesn't he?

I turned to Clive. "Let's go to Shane," I said. "I'll kill the punk later."

Hey, I was worried okay? Shane's my only brother and I dragged him into this mess. It's all my fault.

Besides Virginia didn't look too good either.

-

"Shane!" I yelled as I ran over to him. He had been unconscious so Clive and I brought him home to his bed. There wasn't anything serious except for a bump on his head that was going to stay for awhile. I was grateful for that. "You're awake!"

I patted his back as he sat up and looked around in confusion. "You okay, Shane?" Clive said as he came over.

Shane nodded as he rubbed his head but smiled a bit. "My head hurts." Well duh. "Where is everyone?"

I frowned. "Granny's out somewhere with Mr. Igan. Probably apologizing. Virginia's somewhere and Jet," I looked at Clive. "…he's somewhere too."

My brother groaned. "It was you, Gallows! Wasn't it?"

Whoa! How'd he find out?

Shane let out a small smile. "When you came home and told us all about the play you were smiling like there was no tomorrow. And then I remembered that you were going to help Virginia and Jet get together. It was the jealous method, wasn't it? You tried to get Jet jealous?"

Damn. That's one smart kid. "Yeah," I said sheepishly. "Sorry…I didn't mean for it to happen."

He sighed and lay down on his bed again. "It's okay. You were only trying to help them," he said. "It's my fault that I continued with the play anyway."

"You were only doing what you were told, Shane," I protested. "It wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't anyone's fault," Clive interrupted. "Things just got out of hand. And now we have to figure out a way to bring the two together. First we have to find them though."

Shane and I agreed.

I groaned secretly. Another long day. Matchmaking was hard work.

-

I stepped out into the night air. After talking to Shane and Clive for awhile, I ended up being the one to find the two bozos. Why me? Why is it always me? Grr…they're lucky I'm as nice as I look.

Haha.

There were barely any people out now. It was pretty late though. They were all probably sleeping especially after a tired night of the play. I hope Granny fixed things up with Mr. Igan. I feel so guilty.

THWACK!

What the heck! Where did that come from!

I turned and saw Gran standing behind me with a deep frown on her face.

"You!" she yelled. "You did this all didn't you!"

I nodded meekly as I rubbed the back of my head. I felt like a little boy being punished.

"Next time you try to set up Virginia and Jet, tell me!" She turned towards the house, grumbling. I heard a word that sounded like "oaf."

Why was everyone so mean?

I sighed and began my search. Hopefully I'd find them soon and get things cleared up. I was dead tired.

And hungry.

I walked around the colony a bit, knowing that it was hopeless to find them. They were probably out of town somewhere by now. Or maybe they were together, already patching things up. Maybe they were confessing that they love each other right this minute!

I sighed again. I highly doubted that.

After a couple more minutes of searching, I lost hope. There was no way I would find them. So I turned back towards my hut and that's when I noticed a red and white scarf billowing in the wind on top of the roof. Jet was up there?

I groaned out loud. "He was there the whole friggin time!"

-

I hoisted myself to the rooftop and immediately saw Jet sitting there quietly. He spotted me as I slowly crawled over to him.

Aw man. Couldn't he pick a spot on the ground to think? I don't exactly like heights all that much. I'm not a bird. I'm not meant to be in the sky. I ignored it though. I had to get this whole this over with. "What's crackin?" I asked as I sat a couple feet away.

He groaned loudly. "What are _you_ doing here, you big oaf?"

Okay, Gallows, calm down. Don't kill him…Don't kill him…Don't kill him. At least, not yet. "You know why I'm here, punk," I replied. "What the hell happened to you back there? You exploded."

He avoided looking into my eyes and instead turned his gaze to the sky. "Wh-What do you mean? Nothing happened."

I rolled my eyes. He must be one of the worst liars in the whole of Filgaia. "Aw you know what I'm talking about. Why'd you get so angry? You okay?"

Jet snorted. Not a very gentleman thing to do, don't you think? "Why do you care?"

I shrugged. I couldn't tell him that I was doing this because I felt guilty because then he'd know that I was the one who put Shane's and Virginia's names on the lists for the characters. Before I knew it, I might be falling off the roof. So I decided to tell him the other half of the truth. "Jet, I know why you were angry," I said. I smirked a bit as he stiffened. "You can't hide it no more. You like her. You like Virginia and you were jealous. Admit it. You like our leader."

"N-No!" he answered quickly, defending himself. Ugh. When was this guy going to just give in! I was about to tell him that he didn't have to lie to me but he interrupted me with a deep sigh. "I…I think I love her."

I was surprised at first but then I laughed a bit. Well at least he admitted it. It was the first step.

Jet groaned loudly and buried his head in his hands. Boy, this guy got it bad. "I-I don't know what came over me! Just seeing Virginia _hugging_ another guy makes me…UGH!"

"But you know," I added. "Shane would never try to get with Virginia." That was the truth. Shane and Virginia a couple? I shivered at the mental image.

"Well, you never know!" Whoa. He exploded again. "He _could_ like her! He could be trying to steal her away from-" He stopped.

This was actually pretty amusing. "…From you?"

He turned and glared at me before burying his head in his hands again. "…I know Shane would never like her. But what if Virginia did? What if Shane was her type of guy?" He sighed once again. "She could never like me, Gallows. After all, she's Virginia. We argue all the time."

"What if she _does _like you though?" I answered. "Even though she would have _really_, _really_ bad taste, it's not totally impossible that she could like you, you know." I grinned as he glared at me again. "After all, people have different tastes. I think you should tell her."

"WHAT! Are you crazy, you oaf!" he shouted. I was afraid he's fall off the roof in anger. "I can't tell her!"

"Why not? Too scared? You chicken."

"Sh-Shut up! That's not it!"

"Then do it," I replied. "That was the only way you'll know if she likes you right? Besides, you don't want to avoid her forever. Think of how hard it'll be when we kick Beatrice's ass."

He rolled his eyes. Haha. My joke was pretty lame, wasn't it? Oh well. I was just trying to cheer up the guy. "Whatever."

"Well I'm out. Think about it, Jet," I said as I started climbing down the side of the house. I stopped and grinned as I looked at the punk sitting there thoughtfully. "By the way, you're not as bad as I thought."

I didn't get to see his reaction because just then, I lost my footing. Then I fell flat on my back. Aw shoot. That hurt like hell.

I lay there a couple of seconds as I heard Jet laughing his head off. "I TAKE IT BACK, YOU PUNK!"

Didn't I tell you I wasn't a bird?

Feh. I'm gonna kill that punk next time.


	7. Spying

**Through the Oaf's Eyes  
By:** pnaixrose

**Disclaimer:** I don't own WA3. Please don't sue.

* * *

**Chapter 7:** Spying

I rubbed my sore back when I got into the house. Aw, man. That fall really hurt. I guess I'm getting old.

…Nah.

"Hey Gallows. Back so soon? Did you find Jet?"

I nodded and sat next to Clive, still rubbing my back. "I had a talk with him. Where's our leader?"

Clive gave a huge sigh. "She's in the bedroom talking with Shane. She's been apologizing to him ever since she stepped foot in the house."

Well, that was Virginia for you. It wasn't a surprise.

"Is Jet coming inside soon?" Granny asked from the stove. "I made a meal for everyone. We all need it after what happened." She gave me a sharp look.

Wow, thanks for making me feel better. Jeez...

"What exactly did you tell Jet, Gallows?" the old woman said with a glare. "Watch...you probably sabotaged the whole thing..."

Hey! A little conversation didn't hurt anyone! ...Hmm...But she has a point for once. Lately my luck hasn't been on my side. What if I made things worse for the two lovebirds? "I-I don't think I did..." I mumbled aloud as I scratched my head in thought. All I did was give him a little push. I wanted this whole thing to end soon.

Gran frowned and opened her mouth to say something but she shut up when Virginia walked in.

Wish she'd do that more often...Gran shutting up I mean.

Virginia smiled a tiny bit as she saw me. "Hey Gallows..." she said softly as she took a seat next to me.

Man, she was bummed. Never thought I'd see the day where Virginia wasn't bubbly and stuff. I might as well try to make her feel better. This was my fault anyway. "Hey! You're not bouncing off the walls like usual, Virginia. Where's that smile?" I grinned.

She giggled and made her smile a little wider. Well, at least I made her feel a little better.

"Is Shane coming?" Clive asked.

Virginia shook her head. "He said he's pretty tired...and dizzy."

I nodded. "I know how that feels like. It's exactly how I feel when I get a hangover." It was the truth. Then you start puking all over the place. It's pretty nasty. Makes you kinda think about not ever drinking again...almost.

"Gallows!"

I saw an angry old woman glaring at me. Guess she didn't know I drank a bit, huh?

Aw, shoot. I'm so stupid. "I...uh..." I coughed, ignoring Clive's chuckles and Virginia's little smile. "Never mind."

Then we all heard the door open. I think we all knew who it was. The silver haired guy walked in with a deep sigh. When he looked up he was surprised to see our leader in the room.

...Surprised...and I guess a little afraid. I know I would be.

I glanced at Clive and he gave me a worried look. What would happen now?

Jet stared straight at Virginia, his eyes nervous. "V-V-Virginia...I-I'm-"

"What is wrong with you, Jet!"

Whoa. What a surprise. We all looked to the girl who had just burst out shouting before Jet could finish what he was saying. She looked...pretty angry. It was weird...too weird. I felt scared just sitting next to her.

I think Jet was the one who was the most surprised. He had the look of utter shock written on his face.

"You can't just hit someone like that, especially not smack on the head!" she said as Jet opened his mouth to say something.

"Look, Virginia...I-"

"Who do you think you are anyway! You think you're so high and mighty hitting people like that?" She glared at him.

His eyebrows knit together and he frowned. Uh-oh...maybe Virginia was going a bit far? "Hold on a second here-"

"What's worse is you just ran away! Shane was hurt and you just didn't care! You just walked away like nothing was wrong!" Virginia slammed her hands against the table as she stood, nearly knocking over the chair. "How cold could you get? I don't know if you've noticed but people don't appreciate how **mean** you are to them. You didn't even say sorry to the poor guy!"

Jet's eyes narrowed as his palms drew to fists.

Okay. It's official. Jet's pissed...again.

"Why do you care so much anyway! D-Do you care about Shane _that_ much or something?" he said, finally being able to finish a sentence.

Virginia crossed her arms in front of her. "What? You mean do I like him? I don't know...maybe. At least I'm capable of liking someone."

That hit him. That hit him **_real_** hard. He tried to hide it but everyone except Virginia knew that the last sentence hurt him...real bad.

Oh whoa...this has definitely gone too far. I mean they've fought before but this was getting out of hand.

I decided I would try to get them to clam down. "Yo, you two-"

They only turned my way momentarily to give me a glare and I practically jumped in fright. Boy. They were really scary.

Jet and Virginia glared at each other for at least a minute before someone else spoke. I swear, it was the longest minute of my life.

"I-I was gonna apologize to **_you_** first...you know for acting like a big asshole," Jet muttered. I thought I saw him tremble a bit. I was probably just seeing things though. "But never mind! I take it back!"

But Virginia scoffed. "_You_? _Apologize_? Don't try to make me laugh right now."

That did it.

"You know what? FINE! I've had it! I _tried _to apologize but you don't let me finish my damn sentence and still you blame it all on me? Go and all your lovey dovey shit with him! I DON'T CARE! After all, I'm _incapable_ of caring right!" He took a breath, looking at her with hurt eyes. "If I'm so damn incapable, then why is it that I fuckin _care_ so much for _you_!"

The door slammed. He was gone.

Granny, Clive and I all looked at the shock stricken girl who suddenly didn't look so furious. We didn't move as she slowly and weakly sat back on the chair.

I tried to stop it from happening...I really did. You saw me!

Virginia put her face to her hands. We knew this was coming. Before we knew it she was bawling her eyes out. Gran forgot about the meal she was cooking and rushed to her as Clive and I tried to console her by patting her back.

"There, there," Granny said soothingly as she hugged the miserable girl. "Don't cry."

"I don't know why I did that! I really don't!" Virginia said, her voice muffled and trembling.

I stood up. Watching our leader cry was saddening and I still couldn't help but feel that it was all my fault. "I-I'll go get him. There has to be a way to sort this out."

But before I could even take a step, Clive called out. "Don't Gallows." He looked down sadly at the girl who was crying on Gran's shoulder. "Give him time to think."

I sighed and scratched the back of my head as I sat down again, patting my comrade's shoulder. I knew Virginia would be mad but I didn't think she'd say such cruel words. That was _harsh_. Even I wouldn't say those words to him.

"Why did I get so angry? Why?" Virginia shouted to nobody in particular. "Once I started going I couldn't stop! I didn't want to get mad at him! I didn't want to do that at all!"

"Well he did hurt Shane, so it's not your fault," Gran said, still hugging her.

"He should've at least helped him afterwards!" Virginia continued. "Why did he get so mad anyway?"

We all looked at each other silently as Granny continued patting Virginia's back. This girl had no clue that Jet had been jealous. So jealous that in fact he was sending out a bad, angry aura that scared away people who were near him.

"I went too far! I called him mean and cold when really I don't think of him as that at all!" She picked up her tear streaked face to look at us with watery eyes. "And he said he _cared_ for me! He cares for _me_! I've been hiding my feelings all this time and he feels the same way? I've been trying not to show just how much I love him and now he says that?" She buried her head in Gran's shoulder again, a new batch of tears coming in. "I doubt that now! He probably hates my guts! He hates me! But I still love him! I'm so stupid..."

"Virginia...neither you nor Jet meant what you guys said," Clive said. "So please..."

But she only let out a sob. I felt like a useless potato then. She was crying her eyes out and I couldn't do a thing.

Everything was so damn messed up...

-

I sighed as I entered the house. It was a gloomy day, which was pretty weird because everyone else in town was having a great time outside. They were all enjoying the last day of the festival. As for us, Virginia had stayed in bed all day and Clive stayed to take care of her. But Gran and Shane had gone out. Don't worry, Shane was feeling better. A rather big bump was gonna stay on his head for awhile though. He didn't seem to care.

Me? I tried to have fun out there, but I didn't even feel like joining in the pie eating contests. It just didn't feel right when you know you've got a depressed leader, a worried sniper, and another comrade who...well...who you don't know where the hell he is!

As you might've guessed, Jet didn't come back last night. He didn't come this morning either. It was late afternoon and he still hadn't come back.

Could he have possibly...left? For good?

No doubt that was what Virginia was thinking. She had been covered up in her blankets all day, pretending to be sleeping. But we all knew she was quietly crying. I don't think she'll stop crying until Jet comes back.

_If_ he does.

That fight last night was just too intense. Virginia had just let her anger come over her. I guess she had a right to that since she had no clue he had been jealous. But this was all just a misunderstanding. Virginia hadn't meant what she said.

I collapsed on the kitchen chair and groaned.

If you think about it...I started this mess.

A sigh was heard. "Oh please, Gallows. Not you too."

I turned to the nerd who had just entered. I couldn't feel guilty now. Virginia was miserable! "How is she?"

He shook his head slowly. "A little bit better...and that's not saying much."

I frowned. "Do you...think he'll come back?" Clive _had_ to know. After all, this was _Clive_. He knew everything! And if he didn't exactly _know_ everything, he always had a theory of some kind or a feeling.

But he only shook his head again as he ran a hand through his dark green hair. "I honestly don't know."

He was stumped too.

Boy, we were in a fix here. We'll never be able to beat Beatrice with Jet gone and Virginia crying. I bet we'll be staying here for a while if things stay the way they are.

...And I'll never get my appetite for pie again.

-

The sun was started to set now. I had taken a little nap because...well...to put it simply, it was tiring watching the door, expecting Jet to come in at any moment. I was really losing all hope that he would come back at all. It was then I noticed that the covers on Virginia's bed weren't hiding a big lump. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.

Was Virginia actually out of her bed?

That was impossible! I was sure she was going to stay there forever! But it's a good thing she got up. Watching her pretending not to cry made me upset and even guiltier than I already felt. Where was she anyway? I wandered to the kitchen. No one was there. Not even Clive.

Where was everyone?

I stepped outside curiously and spotted the trench coat of a certain sniper. What was he doing though? He was hiding behind the side of the house, peering at the backyard? I walked up to him. "Hey what are you-"

He turned as he realized I was there. "Shh!" he said sharply.

I raised an eyebrow as I too took a glance towards the backyard. My eyes ogled. Two certain teens were standing face to face, looking straight at each other silently.

"H-He's back!" I whispered hoarsely as I looked at the guy with the red scarf. "Since when?"

Clive shrugged. "A couple of seconds ago I went into the room to see if Virginia wanted a glass of water. She wasn't there so I went looking for them out here and saw them like this."

"Did I miss anything?"

He grinned and shook his head. "Nope. I think the show just started."

Yes. This _had_ to be interesting. "Oh, look they're talking."

I saw that Virginia was obviously avoiding his pale violet eyes. "Wh-What are you doing here, Jet?" she asked softly. Good thing we weren't that far away. We could still hear. "I-I thought you...left."

After a while, Jet shook his head slowly. "I...Actually I..." He sighed, running a hand through his tousled hair. "I saw this and I..." He lifted a single white flower. It was a familiar sight. I remember that whenever we went to Boot Hill, I saw them on Virginia's mom's grave. "I...I thought of you." Jet took a step towards her to hand her the flower which she took gratefully. "I-I really was going to leave...but...I just saw it...out of nowhere, just growing by a rock. So I came back..."

She looked up at him, clutching the flower closer. Her eyes got teary. "I-I'm so sorry Jet! I really am! I didn't mean to get so angry. I didn't mean to say all those mean words." She tore her eyes from his face and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry..."

A silent minute passed between them as Clive and I continued watching closely. Hey, I knew it was wrong to spy on them like this but would _you_ be able to pass up this chance?

Thought so.

Besides, Clive was watching. If you get mad at me, you have to get mad at him too!

"Do you really like Shane, Virginia?" Jet asked suddenly.

Virginia shook her head. "He's just a friend, Jet. I was just worried about him. That's all." She looked up at him. "I didn't mean anything I said yesterday. I don't even know why I said all of that."

Jet's eyes softened as he smiled a tiny bit. "I know why. My actions yesterday were inexcusable. I was just so...angry."

"Why?"

He stiffened. Aw, man, Jet. Don't let the moment pass now! Don't chicken out! You're so close!

"I-I..." Jet sighed out loud, scratching the back of his head. "I was...jealous. Of you and...Shane."

"Why would you ever be jealous? We were just acting," she replied.

I guess he got impatient a bit because Jet growled and got a hold on her shoulders. "Don't you realize it yet?"

OH! It was coming! I just know it is! _He's gonna confess_!

"Virginia, I don't wanna see any other guy touching you, hugging you...kissing you," he said softly yet determinedly. He swallowed nervously. "Because...I...Virginia, I..."

He paused.

Why the hell did he pause?! I wish _I_ had a boomerang or something right now to hit him across the head!

Virginia looked up at him with wide eyes. "What you said yesterday...just before you left...did you mean...?"

Jet closed his eyes momentarily and took a final breath.

I didn't realize that I was holding in my breath for that long.

"Virginia. I'm in love with you."

He said it. He actually said it! That dog! I knew he could do it!

"I-I know you probably don't feel the same. Oh shit...what did I do? This is why I didn't say it in the first place. Well, actually, I didn't _know_ I loved you at first but I figured it out, I-I didn't have the guts to say it." He let go of her shoulder as he rambled. "Oh shoot...I fucked it up." He took a step backwards.

That idiot.

Virginia had a smile on her face as she grabbed his arms to keep him from getting away any further. "Wait Jet-"

"I'm sorry, Virginia. I really am. This is why I didn't tell in the first place. Now our friendship will be ruined and-"

She grabbed his cheeks suddenly and pulled his face to hers.

Oh my god.

They were kissing!

I grinned widely. "Whoa. The lucky bastard did it," I mumbled to myself. "He got his first kiss." I heard Clive give a chuckle.

The two separated. The girl had a huge smile on her face while the boy just stood there dumbly, red as a tomato. "I love you too, Jet."

He frowned. "Why didn't you stop me from rambling? I looked like an idiot!"

Virginia laughed. "Well I thought it was kinda cute and besides, I-" She was interrupted.

My jaw dropped. I can't believe he just did that. I didn't know he had the balls to do it.

They were at it again!

"Oh my..." Clive said laughing. "Doesn't seem like something Jet would do, eh?"

I shook my head, still in shock. "This _can't_ be the punk."

And they were _still_ making out!

"It's not," the nerd said with a grin. "It's 'the punk' in love."

I tore my eyes from the two as Clive did the same. Okay, that was romantic for about two seconds. I don't need to see it any longer.

Gross.

I grinned though. It was a happy ending. I should've known. Jet wouldn't leave us. Especially since Virginia was here. I guess everyone's happy!

"Oh, hey Gallows! Gallows! Guess what?" Shane's voice said excitedly.

The color drained from my face. What if the two lovebirds heard? We'd be dead meat!

Shane ran up to us smiling...and still yelling loudly. Clive and I glanced at each other nervously. I put a finger to my lips. "Shane! Shh!"

"What's wrong? I have great news, brother!" Shane asked, still loud enough for the people in the backyard to hear.

I tried to point it out. I really did. "J-Just...SHH! Jet and Virginia. They-"

Clive tapped me on the shoulder and I looked up to where he was pointing. I knew what happened though. And I was right. There was an angry Jet and an equally angry Virginia right next to us.

We were in trouble. Deep trouble.

Well, at least it wasn't only me! Clive was spying too!

"It wasn't my idea! It was all Gallows," Clive said sheepishly.

My eyes widened. What the! I glared at him while he just smiled innocently and took a step away. THAT LITTLE LIAR! "No! I...he-"

"GALLOWS!" "YOU OAF!"

But luckily, before they could kill me, Shane was able to tell me the great news he had been so excited about. I'm glad he did too.

"The pies. There are still a lot left from the contest since after all, you hadn't been in it. They're asking if you wanted the rest."

My eyes widened with joy.

I don't care if they kill me. Just please let them kill me _after_ the pies.

Okay?

**THE END**


End file.
